Nokia does not expect the possible exclusion of Chinese companies on security grounds to delay the rollout of next-generation 5G services in European markets, reported Reuters.
Debate is raging in Europe over whether to heed calls from Washington to bar China’s Huawei Technologies, even as big telecoms operators warn that such a move could set back the deployment of 5G by years.
According to Reuters, Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri downplayed concerns that a reduced field of vendors could slow network upgrades. The real reasons for Europe’s growing 5G lag behind the United States are hold-ups in issuing spectrum to operators, as well as high auction costs in countries such as Italy, he said.
“I think you cannot say that you know the situation caused by some of this will delay 5G rollout or that others are not capable or ready to provide equipment. That would not be accurate,” Suri said on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress, the industry’s main annual gathering in Barcelona.
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