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The Swedish Post and Telecommunications Agency (PTS) decided in October to exclude Huawei from the continued expansion of 5G networks in Sweden, referring to the fact that Säpo believes that the company risks damaging Sweden’s security.
This decision of the authority led Huawei to request that the Stockholm administrative court inhibit, for the time being, to stop the execution of the decision, which the court also did.
But the next instance, the appeals court, has now annulled this decision and, therefore, Huawei is ported again.
Safety reasons first
The court has weighed Huawei’s interests against the interests behind the PTS decision, namely a national security interest.
It is of the utmost importance that Sweden’s security is protected, the decision states. What the Security Police and the Armed Forces have presented about Huawei “are strong indications that there are reasons to suppose that permits without the current permit conditions could threaten the security of Sweden,” it continues.
And the Court of Appeal finds that the interest nonetheless outweighs the “extremely extensive and irreparable financial and goodwill damage” that the PTS decision has caused Huawei.
Risk of multiple processes
“With this opinion, there are conditions to hold the auction in the near future,” PTS writes in a comment on its website.
Neither Huawei nor the Court of Appeal believe it is a good idea for PTS to hold the 5G auction before the last word has been said. Huawei could then also appeal the result of the auction, after which another legal process could be started in parallel with the ongoing one.
The decision of the Court of Appeal is silent on the basic question itself, whether PTS has the right on its part to keep Huawei away from the telecommunications market. This issue is still being handled in the administrative court.
