2023-10-23 15:24:00
Has France changed its mind regarding the future of Huawei in France? Maybe. While the Chinese equipment manufacturer’s 5G antennas are supposed to be gradually banned in mobile networks, the government has decided to extend their duration of use in certain cities, according to our information, confirming those of The Informed. As a reminder, in 2019, France adopted a new law aimed at “preserve the interests of defense and national security” concerning “the operation of mobile radio networks”. Quickly baptized “Huawei law” by the press, this text had one objective: to exclude Huawei from the country’s 5G networks, against a backdrop of concerns about espionage or voluntary network shutdown by Beijing. The idea was then to organize the gradual dismantling of the Chinese antennas of SFR and Bouygues Telecom, knowing that Orange and Free do not, for their part, have such equipment.
To do this, the National Information Systems Security Agency (Anssi) and Matignon have issued limited authorizations to SFR and Bouygues Telecom for their requests to install Huawei 5G antennas. Some run until 2023, others until 2025, and the longest until 2028. At the time, this solution was favored in order to avoid Bouygues Telecom and SFR finding themselves having to replace, immediately and at great expense, their entire fleet of Chinese antennas, at the risk, moreover, of delaying the deployment of 5G in the country.
China welcomes French decision
But the government has apparently backtracked somewhat. In certain cities, authorizations which ran until 2028 have been extended by three years, until 2031, say sources close to the matter. HAS The Tribuneone of them explains in particular that this summer, a request for “release” (software update) of Huawei 5G antennas for the year 2023 – which also requires a green light from Anssi and Matignon – has been authorized until 2031 for the antennas of the “2028” park.
Asked by The Tribune, Bercy, Anssi, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Huawei refuse to comment. The issue is sensitive, like all those concerning national security. However, Beijing very officially welcomed this decision. On July 29, He Lifeng, the Chinese Minister of Finance, was explicit during a joint press conference with Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy, who was visiting the Middle Kingdom: “China appreciates France’s decision to extend Huawei’s 5G license in certain cities”he declared, as evidenced by a video from the agency AP.
The specter of a voluntary network shutdown
This decision by France does not necessarily mean that Huawei will be able to continue to sell its 5G equipment in France indefinitely. It is possible that Paris accepted this extension so as not to antagonize Beijing, and to preserve good commercial relations in other strategic areas. During his press conference with He Lifeng, Bruno Le Maire, moreover, pleaded for more Chinese investments in France. He welcomed certain advances in the fields of aeronautics, agriculture, cosmetics and finance. The two parties notably agreed to accelerate “obtaining certifications for the Falcon 8X” from Dassault, and two engines manufactured by Safran. In the agri-food industry, Bercy was delighted to “two significant advances”concerning “better access to the Chinese market for pork proteins for food use, and acceleration of work on avian zoning”.
However, France’s concerns regarding Huawei equipment remain very real. These infrastructures are still judged “more at risk than those of European equipment manufacturers [Nokia et Ericsson, Ndlr] », says a good connoisseur of the file. According to this source, with Huawei, the problem concerns less the threat of espionage than that of a voluntary network shutdown at the request of Beijing, considered credible in the event of a deterioration in the geopolitical situation. “ If the networks are available, we know how to do encryption on top of it and ensure the confidentiality of exchanges.she explains. On the other hand, if the networks do not work, there is nothing we can do. And today, cutting off telecoms is like cutting off electricity: we can no longer afford it. »
The annoyance of Free and Orange
In any case, this decision to extend the authorizations of SFR and Bouygues Telecom risks making the competition cringe. Free has long been very upset about not having been authorized to use Huawei in France. Xavier Niel’s operator judges that this situation distorts competition, and has taken the matter to court. But so far all his requests have been rejected. If Orange has not officially complained about the situation, its staff appears, behind the scenes, to be particularly annoyed.
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