Vodafone Portugal contests removal of Huawei equipment

Vodafone Portugal is contesting a decision by authorities to mandate the removal of Huawei equipment from its mobile communications transport network. While the operator is complying with the directives and has already begun replacing the affected components, CEO Luís Lopes argues that the security measures should be proportional to the specific risks identified.

The dispute centers on Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) equipment used in the transport network to transmit large volumes of data via fiber optics. Vodafone contends that this transport network does not pose the same level of cybersecurity risk as other infrastructure components, such as the mobile network core or radio equipment.

Luís Lopes stated that the company has challenged the decision with competent authorities, including the government, noting that Vodafone has not been granted access to the detailed risk analysis used to justify the mandate.