Portugal’s centre-right government, which came into power in April, has announced that it will uphold the previous administration’s ban on telecom firms using Chinese equipment in their 5G networks. In May 2023, the CSSC cybersecurity board, under the last Socialist government, prohibited using Chinese equipment in high-speed 5G mobile networks and 4G platforms. The Chinese tech company Huawei (HWT.UL) has made significant efforts to enter Portugal’s 5G market and potentially expand its contracts.
Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz stated on Monday that he does not believe excluding the Chinese technology company Huawei from the 5G network will lead to higher costs or slower connectivity for the national telecommunications network. His comments came after a study by consultants EY for Huawei suggested that permanently excluding Huawei from 5G could cost the Portuguese economy over one billion euros.
The Minister mentioned that the current government inherited the security assessment from the previous government and emphasised the need to make the system less vulnerable to potential threats. Pinto Luz highlighted the importance of continuity in certain policies, particularly in ensuring security.
Europe and the United States have raised concerns about Chinese involvement in critical infrastructure compromising security, although Beijing and Huawei have rejected this view. Huawei has even filed a lawsuit in a Lisbon court against the decision.
Portugal’s main telecoms operators, Altice, NOS, and Vodafone, have already confirmed that they will not use Huawei’s technology in 5G core networks. However, they will still need to dispose of the Huawei equipment used in their infrastructure.
