Security experts worry about back doors. That is stopping Huawei getting through the front ones. Nordic rivals of the Chinese telecoms equipment group will benefit. On Thursday morning Ericsson was the sole gainer among Europe’s tech stocks as markets reeled following Canada’s arrest of the daughter of Huawei’s founder.
Meng Wanzhou, the group’s chief financial officer, is facing extradition to the US on suspicions of violating US trade sanctions. While not directly linked to security worries, it adds to the thickening fog of distrust about Huawei. A day earlier, it emerged the UK’s BT Group plans to strip Huawei equipment out of its core 4G network. US officials have been touring Europe to warn against using Huawei equipment. Australia and New Zealand have both joined the US in a ban.
All the allegations are vigorously rejected by Huawei. It is betting Europe will not follow the US’s lead. At first sight that is plausible: EU governments do not see eye to eye with the US on a host of political and trade issues. Moreover, Huawei’s 5G technology is among the most advanced and cheapest in the world. Excluding it might increase costs for consumers. So far, governments have moved cautiously, inspecting rather than banning Huawei’s technology. BT’s move was in line with a longstanding policy and only affects the sensitive core of its service.
