The European Union may give operators that still run Huawei equipment in their networks additional time to replace it, according to a report from Telecoms.com, in a signal that Brussels is softening the pace of its push to phase Chinese vendors out of European 5G infrastructure.

The development matters because several EU member states have struggled to meet deadlines set under the EU's 5G security toolbox, the non-binding framework adopted in January 2020 that urged national governments to restrict or exclude high-risk vendors — Huawei and ZTE — from core networks and, in most capitals, from radio access networks too.

The report does not name which operators or which countries would benefit from extended timelines. However, the group of so-called holdouts is well known in the industry. Germany, where Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica all built substantial portions of their 5G radio networks with Huawei gear, has moved more slowly than most large EU markets. Spain and Portugal have also kept Huawei in significant parts of their footprints.

The contrast with earlier movers is stark. Sweden banned Huawei and ZTE from 5G rollouts in October 2020, forcing Ericsson-dependent operators such as Telia and Tele2 to rip out equipment already installed. France used licensing conditions to phase Huawei out of mobile networks, giving Orange and SFR transition windows that effectively removed the vendor from new 5G builds. The UK, no longer an EU member, ordered full removal of Huawei kit from 5G networks by the end of 2027.

For the operators affected, time is money. Replacing radio access equipment across a national network typically costs hundreds of millions of euros and can take years of site-by-site swaps, because antennas, baseband units and transmission links must be replaced and re-integrated with the rest of the network. A slower or staggered deadline would spread that capital expenditure over more financial years, easing pressure on operators already carrying heavy 5G investment loads.

The vendors stand to gain or lose accordingly. Nokia and Ericsson, the two European radio equipment suppliers, have picked up replacement contracts across markets that excluded Huawei — most prominently in the UK, where both won multi-year swap deals with all four mobile operators. Any extension of replacement timelines in Germany or elsewhere would delay that pipeline of swap revenue.

Huawei itself has argued repeatedly that it poses no security risk and has criticised EU member states for what it calls politically driven exclusions. Beijing, in turn, has hinted at commercial consequences: China's scrutiny of Nokia and Ericsson equipment in its own market has been widely read as leverage tied to how European governments treat Huawei.

The regulatory context adds another layer. The EU 5G toolbox never carried the force of law; it left implementation to national authorities, which produced a patchwork of deadlines and enforcement regimes across the bloc. The European Commission has since pressed member states to harden their positions, including through statements that flagged Huawei and ZTE as risks and warned operators they would bear the costs and liability of keeping the vendors' kit. A formal decision to grant more time would sit uneasily with that harder line, and it is likely to draw criticism from Washington, which has lobbied European capitals for years to exclude Chinese equipment entirely.

For now, the report suggests flexibility rather than reversal: operators that have not finished removing Huawei equipment may get longer to complete the job, not permission to keep buying new Chinese kit. The underlying policy direction — exclusion of high-risk vendors from European 5G networks — appears unchanged.

What remains to be seen is how any extended deadlines would be structured, whether per country or per operator, and whether the Commission formalises the approach in guidance to member states. Operators in Germany, Spain and Portugal will be watching closely, since the timing of their swap programmes — and the capex that comes with them — now hangs on Brussels' next move.