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Bouygues to uninstall 3,000 Huawei smartphone antennas in France by 2028
Bouygues will install 3,000 Huawei-built smartphone antennas in France by 2028, following a decision by the country's authorities to ban devices manufactured by the Chinese firm from densely populated areas, said Deputy CEO Bouygues on Thursday.
The United States argues that Huawei devices may be used by China to spy, an claim that the corporation denies, but which has prompted many of Washington's allies to impose sanctions on the business.
The French authorities have informed the telecommunications companies preparing to purchase the Huawei 5 G devices that they will not be able to extend the license for the products as soon as they expire, potentially excluding the Chinese community from the mobile networks by 2028, three sources told Reuters last month.
A lot of sites would eventually have to be demolished, Olivier Roussat, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Bouygues, told reporters on a call, adding that there were 3,000 Huawei sites.
The dismantling will take place over a period of eight years, with a small effect on our operational performance, Roussat said.
Bouygues, who also reported predicting the first-half performance on Thursday, did not mention the company's equipment it would use instead of Huawei's.
Roussat said that Huawei 's telecommunications devices has already been barred from the cities of Brest, Strasbourg, Toulouse and Rennes. Mobile equipment manufactured by a Chinese corporation can not be used in Paris either.
Bouygues, whose interests include newspapers, development and telecommunications, has consistently claimed that it would demand compensation from the French State if it were to buy Huawei 's equipment.
Asked about that, Roussat said that negotiations are currently taking place with the French authorities, refusing to comment further.
He said that the party has already conducted a variety of judicial cases against the French State in tandem. The Deputy CEO said that the bans had so far only affected densely populated regions.
