Ericsson Claims Leadership Over Huawei in Rollout of 5G Networks

Earlier this month, US Attorney General William Barr urged Washington and its allies to consider putting their “financial muscle behind” either Nokia or Ericsson to make them “far more formidable” competitors to Huawei.

Speaking to reporters in London on Thursday, Fredrik Jejdling, executive vice president of the Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson, claimed it was doing better than Huawei in terms of developing 5G mobile networks.

The Financial Times reported in this regard that Ericsson had clinched 79 5G-related commercial contracts by the end of 2019,  compared to 63 and 50 such deals in place for Nokia and Huawei, respectively.

US Attorney General Urges Ericsson to Counter Huawei

Jejdling’s statement came after Attorney General William Barr called on the US and its allies to put their “large market and financial muscle behind” either Ericsson or Nokia to help them turn into “far more formidable” competitors to Huawei.

Barr described China as America’s “top geopolitical adversary,” warning that it had “stolen a march and is now leading on 5G”, capturing 40 percent of the market and “aggressively pursuing the balance”.

Barr spoke shortly after Huawei announced its decision to build manufacturing hubs in Europe in the face of a US drive to prevent the Chinese tech giant from operating there.

London Greenlights Huawei Supplying Britain With 5G Technology

The remarks followed 42 members of the US House of Representatives sending a joint letter to the UK’s House of Commons Defence Select Committee, warning about the “catastrophic cost” of allowing Huawei to supply Britain with 5G technology. Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson formally granted Huawei a role in the roll-out of the UKs national 5G networks.

London’s refusal to be in sync with US pressure regarding the Chinese tech giant was a major blow for Washington, with France, Germany, the Czech Republic and other nations already indicating that they would continue working with Huawei on their 5G infrastructure.

Washington has long been urging its European partners to exclude Huawei from participating in national 5G rollouts, citing security concerns amid accusations that the company spies on behalf of the Chinese government, accusations that have been strongly denied both by Beijing and Huawei executives.

Sourse: sputniknews.com