Three to launch 5G network in August
Further handset details to be announced in July
News - Jasper Hart
June 10, 2019
Analysis comes the same day as Facebook bans pre-installed apps on Huawei devices
Banning Chinese telecoms equipment would cause the cost of implementing 5G networks in Europe to increase by about ‚¬55 billion (£49 billion) according to new analysis from GSMA.
The analysis, seen by Reuters, accounts for the total additional costs that would result from a full ban on purchasing 5G infrastructure equipment from Huawei and ZTE.
“Half of this (additional cost) would be due to European operators being impacted by higher input costs following significant loss of competition in the mobile equipment market,” the report said.
“Additionally, operators would need to replace existing infrastructure before implementing 5G upgrades.”
A ban would also delay the deployment of the technology by 18 months, reflecting comments made by BT CTO Howard Watson at Mobile News Xpo in March.
The analysis comes at the same time as Facebook announcing it has banned Huawei from pre-installing its apps, which include Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, onto its phones.
Current Huawei phone users will be able to access Facebook from the Google Play Store, but future devices will not have access to the Google Play Store after the company said it would no longer provide Android software for Huawei phones from August, in compliance with the US government.
