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Italian minister says Huawei should not be banned from 5G rollout
China’s Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. has been given a boost after Italy’s new minister of economic development, Stefano Patuanelli, said it should be allowed to participate in the rollout of new 5G networking services in the country.
The minister’s comments came just days after an Italian parliamentary committee said that Chinese companies should be banned from involvement in the development of its superfast networks.
The U.S. government has lobbied Italy and other European allies to avoid using Huawei’s equipment in their 5G networks, and to scrutinize closely any deals with ZTE Corp., saying that they could pose security risks.
Both companies have denied any such risk.
“We have passed legislation that guarantees national security,” Patuanelli said in an interview with La Stampa, first reported today by Reuters. “With the right defenses, the possibility of [Chinese companies’] access is not up for debate.”
The Italian Parliamentary Committee for the Intelligence and Security Services and for State Secret Control submitted a nonbinding document last week that sounded the alarm on the Chinese firms’ involvement with 5G in the country. The committee said its concerns were “largely grounded” because of the possible threat to national security.
But Patuanelli said on Sunday that “Huawei offers the best solutions at the best prices.” He added, “One cannot fly the flag of the market with one hand and that of protectionism with the other.”
Huawei had already hit back at the Italian parliamentary committee’s findings last week, saying it “abides by the Italian law and any allegation against it is driven by geopolitical reasons.”
Huawei also offered a tempting carrot by promising to invest $3.1 billion in Italy if the government ensures a “transparent, efficient and fair” policy on its 5G development.
TIM S.p.A., which does business as Telecom Italia and is Italy’s biggest telecommunications firm, is in the process of selecting suppliers to upgrade its networking infrastructure, and Huawei is said to be one of the main contenders.
Photo: amr amr/flickr
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