Vodafone (the second largest mobile operator in the world after "China Mobile") has decided to remove the equipment Huawei produces from the sensitive core of its mobile networks in Europe after Britain decided to restrict the role of the Chinese company in the 5G networks.
"We have now decided, as a result of the European Union toolkit and the UK government's decision to remove Huawei from the fifth generation core network," Vodafone Chief Executive Nick Reed told reporters on Wednesday.
This process takes about five years - as the CEO says - at a cost of close to two hundred million euros (approximately $ 221 million).
Earlier, the European Union followed Britain's move to allow members to limit the role that Huawei could play in 5G telecommunications networks and to resist pressure from Washington to a total ban.
European Union countries can either restrict or exclude highly risky 5G network vendors such as Huawei from the core parts of their telecom networks, according to new guidelines that seek to address cybersecurity risks for the 28 EU countries at the national and union levels.