EU's Huawei purge could cost taxpayers a staggering 40 billion, four times more than Brussels ever admitted

Date:
Sun, 26 Jul 2026 10:25:00 +0000

Description:
GSMA estimates Europe's Huawei removal could cost 40 billion, greatly exceeding Commission projections amid ongoing disagreement over replacement expenses.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Huawei removal could cost
Europe up to 40 billion, GSMA estimates GSMA expects reduced competition to increase telecom equipment prices significantly Experts disagree over the
true financial impact of Huawei's removal The European Union's plan to remove supposedly high-risk telecom vendors such as Huawei and ZTE could cost far more than Brussels currently estimates, new figures have claimed

The GSMA trade body has said that direct replacement costs would reach 30 to 40 billion - roughly four times higher than the European Commission's own estimate of 10 to 13 billion in total. Under the Commission's own
projections, the transition away from Chinese equipment would cost between
3.4 billion and 4.3 billion annually across a three-year rollout - that
annual estimate equates to a total cost of roughly 10 to 13 billion once the full three-year period concludes. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: A costly clash over Chinese telecom equipment The push to remove Huawei and ZTE from European networks traces back to security concerns raised in the early 2010s .

Several EU governments began restricting Chinese vendors after the United States pressured allies to exclude them from next-generation 5G infrastructure. You may like EU to back European alternatives to US dominated software and services in major push for tech sovereignty EU reveals new plans to cut reliance on US and Chinese tech Europe's trillion-dollar tech giant hides a much bigger obstacle

The debate intensified further as multiple member states moved to ban Chinese equipment from their national 5G core networks entirely.

The European Commission later proposed a formal ban on high-risk suppliers as part of a new EU Cybersecurity Act now under active negotiation. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

GSMA's 30 to 40 billion figure is a one-time total, and it breaks down into fixed networks at 5 billion and transport networks at 9 to 12 billion.

It also projects an extra 8.5 billion in costs between 2027 and 2030 from reduced competition among equipment manufacturers, a cost the Commission's figures do not appear to include.

GSMA attributes that added expense to fewer companies competing for contracts once high-risk vendors are excluded entirely from the market. What to read next Data centers could cause $25 billion in environmental and health
damages, study finds Chinese cellular modules could be included in new expansion of federal restrictions FCC has voted to ban Chinese testing labs over security concerns

Telecom operators across the bloc have already begun pressing regulators for financial compensation tied to the mandated equipment replacement. Experts clash over whose numbers are accurate Some economists dispute GSMA's figures, arguing the estimates fail to separate new costs from expenses that would
have occurred regardless.

"GSMA estimates are gross, not incremental," said Hosuk Lee-Makiyama,
director at think tank ECIPE.

He argued that subtracting replacement costs that would have occurred anyway would bring the totals close to the Commission's own figures.

Lee-Makiyama's critique suggests the true gap between industry and Commission estimates may be lower. The European Commission had not responded to requests for comment on the dispute.

GSMA's report arrives as negotiations over the Cybersecurity Act continue among EU member states and telecom industry representatives.

Any eventual compensation scheme would likely require agreement among
national governments already divided over how quickly to remove Chinese vendors.

This is not the first time GSMA's figures have contrasted sharply with the European Commission's or individual analysts' estimates.

In 2019, GSMA projected that replacing Chinese-made telecommunications equipment across Europe could cost as much as 55 billion in total .

Strand Consult, by contrast, estimated the cost of replacing Huawei or ZTE equipment eligible for 5G upgrades at around $3.5 billion.

Whether the final cost this time lands closer to Brussels' modest estimate or GSMA's far larger figure remains genuinely unresolved for now.

Via Politico Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/eus-huawei-purge-could-cost-taxpayers-a-staggeri ng-eur40-billion-four-times-more-than-brussels-ever-admitted


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)