Cyberthreat.id - The French government did not issue a ban for Huawei Technologies, the Chinese telecommunications giant, to invest in the country.

However, the government gave a warning to local telecommunications operators who purchased 5G tools made by Huawei. Once the device's license expires, there are no more updates.

"They will not be able to renew the license for the device once the license expires. This effectively removes the Chinese company from the cellular network," said three anonymous Reuters sources who were privy to the matter, accessed on Monday.

Like other countries in Europe, France is also in "indecision" for the 5G mobile market because it is in the midst of a growing geopolitical storm between the two superpowers: the United States and China.

The US propagandizes that Huawei 5G equipment has a "back door"  that can be used by the Chinese government for espionage. Because of this the US urged its allies to ban Huawei, the last time being Britain. These allegations of espionage have been repeatedly denied by Huawei and the Chinese government itself.

Previously, the Head of the French Cyber ​​Security Agency (ANSSI), Guillaume Poupard, said that France would allow telecommunications operators to use Huawei equipment within a period of 3-8 years. However, the agency still suggested that operators avoid Chinese equipment.

However, ANSSI's written policy has not been made public by either the agency or the telecommunications operator.

Only, in an informal conversation between the operator and the French government, a Reuters source said, the license given for Huawei equipment would not be extended.

ANSSI declined to comment on the new report. Huawei also declined to respond.

Such restrictions, however, would be the de facto removal of Huawei in the French 5G network by 2028, according to sources who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the problem.

One source said it would be difficult for telecommunications operators to risk investing in Huawei equipment, given that new cellular technologies such as 5G require at least eight years to produce a return on investment.

"Giving a three-year license is tantamount to subtle banning," said the source.

However, if France issued a ban clearly it would also be troublesome for Bouygues Telecom and SFR Altice Europe, two French telecommunications operators who are already using Huawei equipment in their current cellular networks.

Bouygues and Altice declined to comment on whether they had applied for a Huawei license or if they had held an informal conversation with ANSSI. They also declined to comment whether they would cancel the purchase plan for Huawei equipment.

Two other major French operators, Orange and Iliad, mainly rely on Nokia, Ericsson or both for their cellular networks. Iliad and Orange declined to comment regarding Huawei's "subtle ban."

"France's position is similar to Britain's, but government communication is different," said one source.

"Huawei can't do much about that."

In the UK, large telecommunications operators rely heavily on Huawei technology, but the government has ordered the Chinese company's equipment to be cleaned from the 5G network by 2027. []