Telecoms industry calls for Europe-wide network testing regime
GSMA initiative follows as US steps up pressure on its allies to ban China’s Huawei Technologies on national security grounds
Frankfurt — The telecoms industry has called on European governments to join mobile operators in establishing a testing regime to protect network security without having to resort to the disruptive step of excluding vendors from the market. The initiative by the GSMA, which represents 800 operators worldwide, comes as the US steps up pressure on its allies to ban China’s Huawei Technologies on national security grounds. Operators warn that such a step would disrupt the supply of equipment, increase costs to them and their customers, delay the rollout of next-generation 5G services by years, and potentially hobble existing networks.
“Such significant consequences, intended or not, are entirely avoidable,” the GSMA said, just more than two weeks before it hosts its annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The industry fest, to be attended by more than 100,000 visitors, is also expected to feature a closed-door discussion of telecoms CEOs of the risks to the industry that woul...
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