A Swedish court has overturned a decision to prohibit Huawei equipment from entering the country’s 5G network, forcing the Swedish Postal and Telecommunications Administration (PTS) to postpone the auction of 5G network frequency bands originally scheduled for Tuesday.
The Stockholm Administrative Court’s ruling came while the Swedish government is reconsidering the Huawei prohibition case.
“We are willing to cooperate fully in terms of any future requirements they may put as a supplier of 5G equipment that will enable us to be a certified vendor,” said Kenneth Fredriksen, Huawei’s executive vice president, Central East Europe and Nordic Region.
Last week, Huawei appealed PTS’s decision arguing its exclusion would not benefit customers or the country in general. Huawei stated that the ban “lacks legal basis, violates fundamental human rights, violates fundamental EU legal principles . . . and is incorrect in substance.”
PTS stated that the October 20 ban also affects the Chinese company ZTE, which complies with the new legislation, “to ensure that the use of radio equipment in these (5G network) frequency bands will not harm Sweden’s security.”
“The Administrative Court in Stockholm has decided that the license condition relating to Huawei in the allocation of the 3.5 GHz and 2.3 GHz bands will not apply for the time being,” PTS said in a statement.
“PTS has therefore informed the operators who are approved to participate that the planned auction will not start on November 10. PTS will continue to analyse the administrative court’s decision and review the possibilities of starting the auction as soon as possible.”
The court ordered PTS to submit arguments in order to make a clearer ruling on the merits of the case. Huawei stated that the ban prohibits Swedish operators from purchasing new Huawei equipment and gradually removing Huawei kits that have been installed on its 5G network, which will cause irreparable damage to its business.
After the United Kingdom in July, Sweden is the second country in Europe to completely ban the use of Huawei equipment and the first country in the European Union to do so.
“The decision granting a stay means that the terms concerning, among other things, the use of products from Huawei until further notice do not apply during the Administrative Court’s continued deliberation of the case,” Senior Judge Johan Lundmark said in a court statement.
