Dutch telecom provider KPN will work with controversial Chinese company Huawei for the construction of its 5G network, though a "western" company will be used for the "critical core" of this network, KPN said on Friday, NU.nl reports.
The partnership with Huawei will center around modernizing KPN's mobile network. According to the Dutch company, this collaboration is all about preparatory work and the agreement could be reversed to comply with Dutch government policy.
For the time being, Dutch provider T-Mobile will not stop using Huawei equipment in its telecom networks due to foreign concerns that the Chinese company's equipment is being used for espionage. KPN and VodafoneZiggo are still considering, RTL Z reports after speaking to the telecom companies.
In the United States, Australia and New Zealand, the authorities are concerned that China is using Huawei's equipment for espionage. The countries are therefore barring the Chinese company from tendering for the 5G network, the successor of 4G.
The Amsterdam ArenA wants to play a key roll in the development of the 5G network by launching the super fast mobile network during the European Football Championships in 2020, along with other host cities. Ger Baron, Amsterdam's 'chief technology officer' will make this proposal at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday afternoon, Financieele Dagblad reports.
The Groningen village Loppersum and its surroundings will be the first rural area in the world to test the new super fast 5G cellular network.
