Huawei Escalates Swedish 5G Ban Battle

Huawei filed legal action against a decision allowing Sweden to resume its 5G auction process. The sale includes conditions prohibiting operators from using the vendor’s kit.

The action was filed to the Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden last week, the latest move in what is becoming an increasingly drawn-out and fraught battle with authorities. Sweden’s auction of spectrum in the 2.3GHz and 3.5GHz bands is set to resume on 19 January after being suspended in November 2020. The pause was imposed by a court injunction in the wake of complaints from Huawei on the terms of the sale.

In December 2020, Sweden’s Court of Appeal cleared Swedish Post and Telecom Authority’s (PTS) conditions, opening the way to resume the auction process. It did, though, leave the way open for further legal challenge. The row comes after PTS banned operators signed-up for the 5G auction from using equipment from ZTE and Huawei on security grounds.