Huawei has signaled it is willing to meet any demand the Swedish government may impose to avoid being banned from the country’s 5G networks.
Huawei is under increased pressure globally as multiple countries implement bans and restrictions on the Chinese telecoms firm. While the US originally spearheaded the campaign to isolate and restrict Huawei, claiming the company poses a national security threat, other countries have arrived at the same conclusion.
Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Romania have banned Huawei from their networks, while the UK implemented a ban under pressure from the US. Sweden implemented a ban of their own, on both Huawei and ZTE, over the same kind of concerns the US has cited. Huawei challenged the ban in court and won a temporary reprieve, as the courts ordered the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority to delay its spectrum auction to allow more time for the matter to be resolved.
Huawei is determined to get back in Sweden’s good graces, and is willing to do whatever it takes according to Reuters.
“We are even willing to meet extraordinary requirements, such as setting up test facilities for our equipment in Sweden, for example, if they want to,” Kenneth Fredriksen, Huawei’s Executive Vice President, Central East Europe and Nordic Region, told Reuters.
“We are now in the middle of the court process, but we are willing to have pragmatic discussions.”
It remains to be seen if Huawei’s overtures will be successful, especially since Sweden’s ban was based on analysis by the country’s military and security experts.