06 November 2019

Norway’s cabinet minister Nikolai Astrup, the man tasked with leading digital efforts across the government, said Chinese technology giant Huawei is free to operate in the country.

The news, which was first published by Reuters and then picked up by other news agencies, is good news for the embattled technology giant, which has been shunned by some countries due to its ongoing row with the US with regards to spying accusations.

“We have a good dialogue with the companies on security, and then it is up to the companies themselves to choose suppliers,” said Astrup. “We haven’t got any bans against any suppliers in Norway.”

Norway was one of the countries which was considering a ban on the grounds of national security, though this now appears to be a process designated to the past. It also demonstrates decisive action from a government.

Huawei, which is said to have strong ties to Beijing, has denied the claims from the start.

Although Norwegian telecom operators are seen as fast-followers for 5G deployment, as opposed to leaders, they now have certainty.

Other countries, such as the UK where services are already launched, remain in the dark as decisions are still currently being made.

EE, Vodafone and Three are still waiting to hear if Huawei will play a role in the UK’s digital infrastructure future.

Telenor, Norway’s largest telecom business, plans to launch commercial 5G services in 2020, while Telia and Ice will also be prepping themselves following the country’s first 5G spectrum auction in June.

Post auction, Telenor and Telia each secured two 10 MHz blocks 700 MHz spectrum, while Ice collected two 10 MHz blocks in 700 MHz and two 15 MHz lots in the 2100 MHz band.

Further auctions are planning over the next few years, with the valuable 3.4-3.8 MHz and 26 GHz bands up for bid next year.