Chinese telecom gear makers have faced the wrath of multiple telecom operators worldwide for privacy and security concerns. Even though they denied all the allegations, multiple telecom operators and the government have restricted the use of equipment developed and manufactured by Chinese vendors. In a sigh of relief, Vodafone’s Italian unit has gained conditional approval from Rome to use telecom equipment made by renowned Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei in its 5G radio access network. As reported by Reuters, Italy can block or impose stringent conditions on all the agreements that will witness participation from non-EU vendors under golden powers. The golden powers have been used by the government three times since 2012 to block foreign interest in industries that hold significant importance.
Government Prescribed Restrictions on Remote Intervention by Huawei
The deal between Vodafone and Huawei was authorised on May 20 by the government of national unity led by Prime Minister Mario Draghi. In identical deals, the government also prescribed multiple restrictions on remote intervention by Huawei to resolve multiple technical glitches and an extremely high-security threshold. However, no official statements were rolled out by Vodafone and Huawei regarding the matter.
The United States is Pushing Allies to Avoid Using Huawei Equipment
The United States has been the epitome of concern for Chinese telecom gear makers. The allegations of security and privacy threats have slashed the reputation of Chinese telecom gear makers Huawei, ZTE and more. To make the next generation networks safe and interactive, the United States is asking Italy and other European allies to avoid using Huawei telecom equipment in the development of their next-generation networks posing a security risk. Even though Italy has not completely banned Huawei from providing telecom equipment for next-generation networks, Huawei is still facing stringent conditions and regulations in Italy. Under the leadership of former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Rome set boundaries for telecom group Fastweb and prevented the entity from signing deals with Huawei to provide equipment for its 5G core network where crucial data is processed. Huawei and ZTE and standing strong against all the security allegations citing that there is no threat to data and security.
