Network & IT

Reality check: assessing telco claims of Europe’s High-Risk Supplier crackdown cost — Strand Consult

2026-07-17T17:04:00

tt-john strand hrvs

Source: Huawei

Guest analysis: with 30% EU exposure remaining, concentrated on 5G RAN, specific countries and three big telcos, John Strand considers media and industry warnings of HRS rip-and-replace costs overstated, evidencing Denmark, the UK and other European markets as showing transition can be managed without derailing 5G rollout. In an age of national security, he also deems it essential for securing future mission-critical contracts.

This article includes:

  • Themes: 5G network rollout; Capital expenditure (Capex); Critical infrastructure; Cybersecurity; Economic security; High-risk supplier/vendor (HRS/HRV); Infrastructure investment; Merger and acquisition (M&A); Mission-critical communications; Mobile core network; National security; Radio access network (RAN); Rip-and-replace strategy; Supply chain security; Telecommunications infrastructure; Trusted supplier.
  • Events: Cybersecurity Act (CSA2) introduction; EU 5G Toolbox implementation; Investor calls.
  • People: Jakob Bluestone; John Strand; Nick Read.
  • Geographic: Austria; Belgium; Bulgaria; China; Croatia; Czechia; Denmark; Europe; European Union (EU); Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Ireland; Italy; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; United Kingdom (UK); United States of America (USA).
  • Organisations: BT Group; Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA); Deutsche Telekom (DTAG); Ericsson; European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE); European Commission (EC); Fastweb + Vodafone; GSMA; Huawei; Hutchison; MásOrange; NATO; NIS Cooperation Group; Nokia; OpenSignal; Proximus; Samsung; Strand Consult; Swisscom; TDC; T-Systems; Telefónica; Telenor; Telia; Vodafone; Zegona; ZTE.

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