Bouygues to remove 3,000 Huawei mobile antennas in France by 2028, in line with government decision
- Bouygues has repeatedly said it would seek compensation from the French state if it had to replace Huawei equipment
Bouygues will replace 3,000 Huawei-made mobile antennas in France by 2028 following a decision by the country’s authorities to remove equipment made by the Chinese company from highly-populated areas, Bouygues’s deputy CEO said on Thursday.
The United States says Huawei equipment can be used by China for spying, an allegation the company denies but which has led many of Washington’s allies to place restrictions on the firm.
French authorities have told telecoms operators planning to buy Huawei 5G equipment that they will not be able to renew licences for the gear once they expire, effectively phasing the Chinese group out of mobile networks by 2028, three sources told Reuters last month.
“A number of sites will gradually have to be dismantled,” Bouygues’s deputy chief executive Olivier Roussat told reporters on a call, adding there were 3,000 sites with Huawei equipment.
“The dismantling will be carried out over a period of eight years, with a limited impact on our operating results,” Roussat said.
Bouygues, which also reported forecast-beating first-half results on Thursday, did not say which company’s equipment it would use in place of Huawei’s.
