EU telecoms bosses oppose ban on Chinese equipment suppliers

European telecom bosses warned on Tuesday against a proposed EU ban on network equipment from Chinese firms such as Huawei and ZTE, saying the move would increase their investment costs.

The European Union wants to ban suppliers seen as "high risk" under cybersecurity proposals set out in January in its Digital Networks Act.

This is the latest of several measures targeting China, with whom trading relations have soured in recent years.

The Act does not cite Chinese firms by name but once identified, telecom operators would have three years to phase them out of their networks.

"The Cybersecurity Act (CSA) risks draining the sector of the very capital needed for fibre, 5G and 6G" networks, the Connect Europe lobby of telecoms operators said in an open letter.

It was signed by 17 top executives, including the CEOs of France's Orange, Germany's Deutsche Telekom and Spain's Telefonica.

The letter did not cite China in particular either but said that a blanket ban on certain suppliers from outside the EU would impose "up to 40 billion euros ($46 billion) in replacement costs on our sector".

The proposal is currently being negotiated between the European Parliament and the governments of the 27 EU member states.

It emerged after the European Commission -- the EU's executive arm -- urged countries in 2023 to exclude Huawei and ZTE from their mobile networks due to security risks but saw insufficient results.

The United States has long banned Huawei and sought to convince allies to follow suit, arguing that its products could be used to monitor communications.

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