5G Auction Postponed in Sweden After Huawei Appeal

Sweden’s telecoms regulator PTS had to postpone its 5G auction following a court ruling to suspend the decision to exclude Huawei. A press release from court confirmed the ruling, stating that certain parts of PTS’s decision prior to the upcoming 5G auction will not apply until further notice.

Last month, PTS banned the country’s operators that had signed up to participate in the auction from using products made by both Huawei and ZTE, following a security assessment. The country also followed the UK by ordering operators to strip out the vendors’ products from 4G and 5G networks, by 1 January 2025, citing security concerns. However, Huawei hit back, appealing the decision, arguing its exclusion would not benefit customers or the country in general.

Judge Johan Lundmark said that the administrative court would continue to deliberate the case, implying that it did not necessarily represent a win for the Chinese vendor at this stage. After the court’s ruling, PTS issued a statement announcing the planned auction would not proceed as planned, and it would look to start the process as soon as possible.