Huawei has lost the Romanian 5G market

Romania was one of the first countries worldwide to follow US decisions on banning Huawei from the deployment of the 5G network. According to CMS law, in December 2019, the National Authority for Administration and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM) launched public consultations for its 2020 action plan aiming to publish tender rules and requirements for the deployment of the 5G network.

On July 5, 2020, the Romanian government released legislation for public debate that will be used to determine which company carries out the installation for 5G networks in the country.

Under the new law, companies controlled by a foreign government, which lack a transparent ownership structure, a history of unethical behavior or are subjected to an independent justice system in their own country are not eligible to participate in the deployment of the 5G network. Huawei is one of the companies that does not comply with the law. However, the new terms came out without explicitly mentioning the company. The Chinese Telecom giant was banned from participating in the deployment of high-speed internet technology following sanctions by the United States. “Huawei refuses to reveal its corporate structure or explain its connection to the Chinese Communist Party”, according to a blog post published by US mission in Romania on January 28, 2020.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis was always against awarding Huawei a license for the deployment of the 5G network. On August 21, 2020, he signed a memorandum with US President Donald Trump in which they agreed to avoid the security risks that accompany Chinese investments in 5G telecommunications networks. “We don’t want to end up with critical systems being operated by companies which are not trustworthy,” said Iohannis, according to Balkans Insight.

Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung are among the alternative telecom operators to Huawei.