While Martin Bouygues has punched the table regarding the possible ban on the use of Huawei equipment for 5G, Sébastien Soriano believes that not using this equipment will not be a problem, at least at the start of the deployment.
In an interview this morning for France Culture, the president of ARCEP responded to Bouygues Telecom’s concerns and even more generally about the Huawei case.
5G without Huawei will not be a handicap
Martin Bouygues had expressed his fears concerning the possible bans on the use of Huawei devices in the development of the new mobile network in France. The operator even announced that he was ready to sue the state if he were deprived of Huawei.
For Sébastien Soriano, the problem does not really exist, at least in the short term. No refusal or acceptance of Anssi has yet fallen for the equipment supplier, but if Bouygues Telecom were to be deprived of Huawei, it should not have any problems immediately.
“Again, 5G arrives in July. It will happen in big cities, it always starts like that. ” He explains. “Operators today have the choice, if necessary, not to go through Huawei, to go through other equipment manufacturers […] and so they can choose, in these first deployments to choose other OEMs. ” For Sébastien Soriano, this possibility does not pose a handicap “at least in the short term ”, since initially only a few cities will be affected.
Martin Bouygues may not agree. The boss of Bouygues Telecom had meanwhile explained that it was not possible to “swap from 4G from an OEM to 5G from another OEM; you need the same equipment in the same areas ”. Anssi’s first authorizations or refusals are expected this February, to see how the situation will develop between now and then.
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