Poland has published a draft cybersecurity law that would prohibit communications operators from purchasing products from high-risk vendors. Some commentators have suggested that this is a move to exclude Huawei from the construction of Poland’s 5G network.
The Polish government on Tuesday unveiled a draft cybersecurity law that divides network providers into four groups according to the level of potential threat to Poland’s cybersecurity, based on criteria such as whether the providers are likely to be influenced by governments outside the European Union or NATO and whether the countries in which they operate respect human rights, Reuters said.
The draft stipulates that communications carriers may not purchase new equipment from a vendor considered “high risk” and must replace existing communications equipment purchased from that vendor within five years. In the case of a “medium-risk” supplier, it is simply prohibited to purchase new equipment from that supplier.
The Polish government gave interested parties 14 days to comment on the draft.
Dominik Niszcz, an analyst at Trigon DM, said that Huawei’s possible classification as a “medium risk” supplier means that Polish carriers will not be able to purchase new products from Huawei, but that it will not be able to purchase new products from the company. No need to replace existing Huawei equipment.
Ryszard Hordynski, director of strategy and communications at Huawei’s Polish office, told Reuters, “The proposed criteria are political criteria. They are not measurable, not transparent, and not objective.”
Hordynski said, “If we think about what might not be appropriate from a political point of view, and Poland has three 5G providers, then we might be really talking about our company, but I hope that won’t happen.”
Reuters said Play, Poland’s largest mobile operator, relies heavily on Huawei’s communications equipment; Cyfrowy Polsat, Poland’s satellite TV and Internet operator, said they need to analyze the draft before giving an opinion.
Recent Comments