In a significant development for Romania’s telecommunication landscape, Huawei, the Chinese equipment manufacturer, has faced a major setback. The Romanian government has formally declined Huawei’s request to deploy its technology within the nation’s 5G networks. This decision, disclosed through the Romanian government gazette without an official press statement, effectively bars Huawei from any future participation in the Romanian mobile network market.
The rejection follows the enactment of a law in 2021, setting stringent guidelines for 5G technology providers, which now sees Huawei grappling with the ramifications. According to sources, telecommunications operators are under a mandate to eliminate Huawei technology from critical network infrastructures within specific timeframes—five years for core network components and an additional two years for radio access network (RAN) elements, counting from June 11, 2021.
Huawei’s response to the decision was one of disappointment, highlighting the company’s two-decade-long operation in Romania without security incidents and adherence to local regulations. The firm, employing around 1,300 people in Romania, emphasized its commitment to delivering secure and reliable ICT solutions, while also hinting at potential legal actions to contest the government’s ruling.
The broader geopolitical narrative hints at underlying tensions, with accusations of security threats often levied without concrete evidence, reflecting a distrust more geopolitical in nature than based on direct evidence of malfeasance by Huawei. Interestingly, this scrutiny hasn’t extended to all Chinese technology firms equally, as demonstrated by Romania’s approval of Lenovo equipment last year. Nonetheless, the law that led to Huawei’s exclusion, though not naming the company directly, seemed tailor-made to restrict its operations, aligning Romania with the policies of other nations within the US sphere of influence.
