In October last year, Huawei was banned from participating in the 5G spectrum auction by the Swedish government, and Huawei appealed against this unfair decision. On June 22, local time, the Stockholm Administrative Court made a judgment on the case, rejecting Huawei's appeal and ruling that the Swedish government's decision was not illegal, that is, it upheld the "Huawei 5G ban".
After the verdict was announced, Huawei responded and respected the verdict, but regretted it and said it was studying further legal remedies to defend its rights and interests. The company's executive vice president of Central and Eastern Europe and Northern Europe stressed that Huawei will continue to fight for the right to enter the Swedish market.
Reuters bluntly said in the report that the court's decision undermined Huawei's hopes of rearrangement in Europe on the one hand, and also increased the possibility of "retaliation" from its competitor, swedish telecom giant Ericsson.
On the 24th of last month, Ericsson issued a warning forecast that the company's 5G market share in China is expected to shrink significantly, partly because of Sweden's exclusion of Chinese suppliers from the construction of its own 5G network. At this time, Ericsson also stressed through a spokesman that the court's decision "may adversely affect Swedish companies, including Ericsson, and the Swedish economy".
Screenshot of the Reuters report
On June 22, local time, the Stockholm Administrative Court of Sweden released a statement on its official website, explaining the relevant judgment of Huawei's appeal to the Swedish government.
The statement said that the court had rejected Huawei's appeal in two cases on the same day, and once again mentioned the so-called "security reasons", claiming that the Swedish government banned Huawei from participating in the country's 5G spectrum auction activities in order to "protect The national security of Sweden", so the previous two decisions to exclude Huawei were justified.
Screenshot of the official website of the Stockholm Administrative Court
On October 20 last year, the Swedish government banned Huawei and ZTE from participating in the construction of its 5G network for so-called "security reasons". At that time, the Swedish Postal and Telecommunications Authority (PTS) announced that it would prohibit companies participating in the subsequent 5G spectrum auction from using Huawei or ZTE's 5G equipment, and the Huawei or ZTE equipment in use would have to be replaced by early 2025.
At the time, PTS explained that the decision was made after an assessment by the Swedish Armed Forces and security services. Today, the Stockholm Administrative Court also states in its statement: "Sweden's security is very important, taking into account that only the armed forces and the security services have a common grasp of the security situation and the overall situation of the threats to Sweden." ”
After the verdict was announced, Huawei issued a statement on June 23 in response, saying that it respected the ruling of the Stockholm Administrative Court, but regretted it. As this court judgment is not final, the Company is considering further legal remedies to defend its rights and interests. Network security is Huawei's highest program. Huawei calls on relevant Swedish agencies to develop objective, unified, and verifiable cybersecurity standards based on facts.
Kenneth Fredriksen, Huawei's executive vice president for Central and Eastern Europe, told Reuters: "This [the verdict] is not surprising, as the court also came to its conclusions based on the assumptions of the Swedish Security Service (SAPO)." We will continue to fight for access to the (Swedish) market. ”
Huawei's 5G mobile phone products are pictured from the surging image
Reuters mentioned that after Huawei's 5G equipment and technology have been continuously suppressed by the United States and European countries, Finnish companies such as Nokia and Swedish company Ericsson have seized the European market share, and South Korean company Samsung Electronics has also signed a contract with British telecommunications group Vodafone to become its 5G network equipment supplier and enter the European continent.
The report also believes that the current judgment may have many follow-up effects. On the one hand, the verdict undermined Huawei's hopes of trying to make a comeback in the European market, and on the other hand, it also increased the possibility of "retaliation" from its rival Ericsson. In fact, another Reuters report last month judged that the verdict could affect the Swedish company's prospects in the Chinese market.
Just on May 24, Ericsson included a warning that the company expected that their market share of 5G networks launched in China could be smaller than the current share of the telecom infrastructure market in China, in part because of the controversy caused by Sweden's exclusion of Chinese suppliers from the country's 5G network construction.
As for the Swedish government's decision against Huawei in the field of 5G, even Ericsson believes that it is debatable, and has also spoken out for Huawei and supported competitors.
At the beginning of this year, Ericsson's CEO was exposed as "threatening" the Swedish government and supporting Huawei
After the court's decision, a spokesperson for Ericsson said the company had been informed of the news and said: "This (the verdict) may adversely affect the economic interests of Sweden and related industries in Sweden, including Ericsson." ”
According to the website of the Chinese Embassy in Sweden on May 12, ambassador Gui Congyou was asked in an exclusive interview with Swedish media at the embassy on May 11 how he views Sweden's exclusion of Huawei from 5G construction and Ericsson's development in China.
Ambassador Gui Congyou said at that time that Sweden's ban on Huawei is not based on facts, has no legal and factual basis, is a political decision, and the normal economic and trade cooperation between the two sides is pan-politicized, pan-security and pan-ideological, and the Chinese side firmly opposes it. It is hoped that the Swedish side will correct its erroneous decision as soon as possible in line with the principles of open, fair, just and transparent market competition and openness, so as to provide a proper business environment for Chinese enterprises to operate normally and legally in Sweden. Ericsson's business in China is determined by the Chinese market and consumers.
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