Telenor abandons Huawei, picks Ericsson for Norway 5G service
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Fearing high-tech espionage, and battling with China over trade, the United States has pushed NATO allies such as Norway to exclude Huawei from lucrative 5G deals, and the Norwegian security services also warned against the firm.
Telenor has picked Sweden's Ericsson as the key technology provider for its 5G telecoms network in Norway, it said on Friday, gradually abandoning China's Huawei after a decade of collaboration over 4G, reported news agency Reuters.
Fearing high-tech espionage, and battling with China over trade, the United States has pushed NATO allies such as Norway to exclude Huawei from lucrative 5G deals, the report added.
The Norwegian security services also warned against the firm, the report said.
"Ericsson will modernise and build Telenor's 5G radio access network (RAN)," the operator said in a statement.
"The modernisation will take 4-5 years. Due to this, Telenor will use equipment from existing RAN vendor Huawei to maintain the 4G network and also upgrade to 5G coverage in selected areas of Norway," it added.
State-controlled Telenor is Norway's biggest telecoms provider, and is active in the rest of the Nordic region as well as five Asian countries, serving some 183 million customers.
(With inputs from Reuters)