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France to urge operators to avoid Huawei, but not ban company- reports

Date: July 07, 2020 Sunil Jha Sunil Jha
France to urge operators to avoid Huawei, but not ban company- reports 
After receiving a backlash from several countries such as the US and the UK, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd got some major relief when France government has refused to put a total ban on the Chinese telecom giant.



France’s cybersecurity agency ANSSI said that the nation would not ban 5G equipment from the Chinese telecom giant in the rollout of 5G networks in the nation. However, the agency stressed that France will urge telecom companies to avoid switching to Huawei.



The Trump administration already urged its allies to ban Huawei network from West’s next-generation communications over security concerns. Huawei repeatedly denied these charges. France’s decision to not completely ban Huawei is vital for two of the nation’s four telecoms operators, SFR and Bouygues Telecom, as around half of their existing mobile network is made by the Chinese company.



In an interview, Director General Guillaume Poupard said that the French government would encourage telecom operators to avoid using equipment from Huawei but would not ban the use of the equipment overall. The nation is offering authorizations for durations that vary between three and eight years, states Mr. Poupard.



Mr. Poupard added that from next week, operators which have not received an explicit authorization to use Huawei’s 5G equipment can consider a non-response after the legal deadline as a rejection of their requests.  



Sources cite that France's decision to urge telecom operators to avoid Huawei is in line with the nation’s efforts to safeguard French independence and not as an act of opposition towards China. State-controlled telecom operator Orange has already chosen their 5G network providers such as Nokia and Ericsson.



For the record, Chinese telecom giant Huawei is a global leader in 5G technology. Numerous nations allege that Huawei’s products may contain security holes that the Chinese government could use for spying purposes.



Source Credit - https://in.reuters.com/article/france-huawei-5g/france-wont-ban-huawei-but-encouraging-5g-telcos-to-avoid-it-report-idINKBN247076

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Sunil Jha

Sunil Jha has been a part of the content industry for close to two years. Having previously worked as a voice over artist and sportswriter, he now focuses on writing articles for newsorigins.com, across a slew of topics, ranging from technology to trade and finance. With a business-oriented educational background, Sunil brings forth the expertise of deep-dive research and a strategic approach in his write ups.