The Administrative Court of Stockholm (the “Court“) has decided on a suspension of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority’s (“PST“) ban on Huawei, which prevents Huawei from gaining access to Sweden’s new 5G network, on the grounds that the ban has negative effects on the company’s rights and that the final outcome in this case is uncertain.[1]
We have in a recent post described the ban on Chinese tech-giants Huawei and ZTE, which stops the companies from gaining access to Sweden´s new 5G wireless network, following a security assessment made by the Swedish Armed Forces and the Swedish Security Service. In its decision the PTS conditioned the permit to use radio transmitters in the 5G network, stating that telecom companies may not use components from Huawei or ZTE. The ban also requires Swedish telecommunication companies to remove any Huawei and ZTE products currently being used in the telecom infrastructure, before 1 January 2025.
Shortly after, Huawei lodged an appeal against the decision to the Court, with a motion to inhibit the ban. The Court assessed that regardless of the fact that the decision does not actually forbid Huawei from selling their products, or prohibit anyone from buying products from the company, the decision can be considered to have the same negative effect as an indirect sales ban. In addition, the Court argued that even if the ban were to be revoked at a later stage, Huawei would nonetheless not be fully compensated for its loss. Finally, the Court stated that the final outcome of the case is uncertain. Therefore, the Court ruled in favour of Huawei and decided to suspend PST’s decision, meaning that Huawei products are no longer banned from the 5G network, and that removal of existing Huawei components is no longer required of the Swedish telecommunications companies until further notice. PTS has appealed this judgement to the Administrative Court of Appeal.[2]
10 November 2020 was the last day for the four remaining companies; Hi3G, Net4Mobility (Tele2 & Telenor), Telia Sweden and Teracom, to place bids for the construction of the new 5G wireless network. The procurement procedure is currently on hold until a final decision has been made, which is expected to be announced by the end of this year.
[1] The Court’s press release is available here: https://www.domstol.se/en/nyheter/2020/11/forvaltningsratten-inhiberar-villkor-om-huawei/¨.
[2] The Court´s decision is available here: https://www.domstol.se/globalassets/filer/domstol/forvaltningsratten_stockholm/pm/24231-20_.pdf
