The cost of removing the Huawei equipment has risen since Huawei and ZTE have been declared as national security threats due to the practice of spies. The US wants to completely spare Chinese tech giant equipment from the county while campaigning to get rid of them.
The US imposed sanctions on Huawei equipment in 2019. The FCC was granted $1.9 billion in funding to help carriers replace Huawei and ZTE equipment with alternatives, in 2021. In the present year, it is estimated that the US needs more money to completely fulfill the job. i.e. another 3.08 billion dollars to bring the project to completion.
Why does America need more money to get the job done?
The US will spend a total of 5 billion dollars on infrastructure replacement if additional costs do not appear in between. The compensation is for carriers with more than two million users, in the first line. However, due to the lack of funds, the FCC decided to set priorities.
The US is also pressurizing European countries to do the same, apart from the fact that the US having a lack of funds in the same stream. So far, only Sweden and the UK have obeyed. Other countries continue to do business with Chinese companies, and currently, 41% of European 4G infrastructure relies on Huawei technology. The complete replacement of Huawei infrastructure will last until 2027 as later predicted.
What about other countries?
Following the US sublines some EU countries decided to go their own way despite the fact that the US needs more money to get rid of Huawei. Germany, Poland, Portugal, and Austria continue to use Huawei equipment for the 5G network as well.
Berlin rais hand to be self decision-maker in the line, about whose equipment it will opt for. Meanwhile, they’ll not give in to American pressure. As other the recent report disclose that the operator Vodafone in Germany alone would spend 2.8 billion euros to replace Huawei’s equipment.
