The operator Bouygues Telecom announced Thursday that it would withdraw 3,000 Huawei mobile phone antennas by 2028 in very densely populated areas at the request of the French government, for security reasons for the future 5G network.
Bouygues Telecom has a total of around 21,500 branches today on the national territory, according to group figures.
The fear of espionage for the benefit of Beijing
"The government has chosen pragmatic management, which allows operators time to adapt," commented Sylvain Chevallier, telecoms specialist and partner of the consulting firm Bearing Point. "But in the long term, it is clear, there will be no more Huawei in the landscape" concerned by 5G.
Huawei, the world's number one in 5G equipment, is in the sights of the United States, which suspects it of potential spying for the benefit of Beijing. The Trump administration is pressuring allied countries to give up using its equipment.
At the beginning of July, the national agency responsible for computer security in France had announced that it would severely restrict the operating licenses of French operators who are partners of the group. The latter then mentioned the need to dismantle their current equipment in the event of incompatibility with those of other manufacturers.
No Huawei antennas in cities with strategic facilities
In detail, Bouygues Telecom, which does not already use Huawei antennas in Paris, will not be able to use Huawei antennas for 5G in Strasbourg, Brest, Toulouse and Rennes, the operator explained.
In these cities there are strategic installations for France, such as the military port and a nuclear submarine base in Brest, the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, or key operational cybersecurity centers in Rennes.
In four other cities that it did not mention, Bouygues Telecom will be able to continue using Huawei antennas for 5G until 2023. For another package of nine cities, the deadline is extended to 2025, while on the rest of the very dense zone, it is increased to 2028.
No contraindication in not very dense areas
In areas which are not very dense areas (57% of the French population), "a priori the French state has no contraindication in the use of Huawei equipment" for 5G, said Olivier. Rossat, Chairman of Bouygues Telecom
For Olivier Rossat, the time left to dismantle the antennas is "fairly reasonable in terms of the financial impact on our operating results". Bouygues is nonetheless negotiating with the State financial compensation for this dismantling, he recalled.
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