Huawei May Be Excluded From Italy's 5G Network Build: Report

Huawei Technologies may be barred from Italy's network plans as the Italian government ponders on security allegations and rethinks the final roster of its invited suppliers for its 5G network build.

According to a report, the Italian daily general-interest newspaper La Repubblica has detailed that Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies may not be included in the list of invited 5G network suppliers in Italy.

This is linked to previous allegations by the Trump Administration that Huawei is spying for the Chinese government now resulting in a prolonged cold war on technology.

As the firm remains at odds with the U.S., Huawei maintains that they pose no security risk to any country and that they have not committed industrial espionage. Victor Zhang who is the current VP of the firm said that it is too early to understand the impact of these allegations on its plans in Italy when he was asked about the possible impact of the ousting to their supply chain.

Supporters of Huawei fear that Italy's neighboring countries could emulate the country's stance on this issue citing that the European community and their decisions are closely interconnected.

Italy refuses to comment on this matter and has not yet vetoed against Huawei despite U.S. encouragements. Though, an unnamed political source confirmed that the issue is already being discussed at a government level.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio met Lewis Eisenberg who is the current United States Ambassador to Italy to tackle the subject and other matters, the source added.

Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri and Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini reportedly raised the issue informally. The source noted that Guerini appeared to be siding against Huawei.

La Repubblica remarked that even ministers who initially supported Huawei have joined the anti-establishment Movimento 5 Stelle which is being led by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

The report cited that Italian officials are predicting that even if Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden wins against Trump in the upcoming election, the U.S. viewpoint on Huawei may not change.

In an interview, Italian politician Enrico Borghi explained that the settlement of this issue is needed as it is likely that Italy would be acquiring resources for its 5G network build from the planned EU COVID-19 Recovery Fund.