HRV Rip-Out Could Cost EU up to €40 Billion

The cost of replacing equipment made by so-called high-risk vendors (HRV) from telecoms networks in Europe will be between €30 billion and €40 billion, according to GSMA Intelligence estimates. In the study, GSMA Intelligence put the cost of replacing mobile networks at €16 billion to €22 billion, equating to around €30 to €42 per mobile connection.

This is driven by high exposure to HRV equipment and the cost of replacing equipment such as base stations. Fixed network costs will hit up to €5 billion, representing the costs of fiber terminals, gateways, and fixed wireless equipment. Transport networks, which include optical switches, multiplexers, and amplifiers, will cost between €9 billion and €12 billion. The figures cover only direct equipment replacement and exclude write-offs of existing assets, disruption costs, capacity constraints, and broader impacts on future investment plans.

GSMA Intelligence warned that excluding HRV’s could reduce competitive pressure, leading to a 24% price increase in mobile network equipment, 19% in fixed network equipment and 10% in transport network equipment. Higher prices would therefore raise operator investment costs by €8.5 billion between 2027 and 2030, with current budgets for mobile networks set at nearly €42 billion.

The European Commission outlined a proposal making it mandatory to “de-risk” European mobile telecoms networks from high-risk third-party suppliers in January, as part of revisions to its Cybersecurity Act. Over five years, it estimated that phasing out equipment could lead to annual costs of €3.4 billion to €4.3 billion for operators, while investment in trusted suppliers could grow up to €2 billion per year.