Telecom operator Meo has decided to take legal action against the Portuguese state, claiming €81.7 million in compensation after Huawei equipment was removed from Portuguese ’'s 5G networks, the newspaper Público reported on Monday. (source in Portuguese).
The report includes information on the Citius portal, especially regarding the cases filed against the Attorney General's Office and the State Legal Center on April 24 this year in ’. With the Administrative Court of the District of Lisbon.
According to Público’, this step of Meo’, which is in the Altice Portugal’in brand portfolio, was taken on the grounds that ’'s “idari decisions were damaged due to ”, the Security Evaluation Commission within the framework of the High Council for Cyber Space Security. The company also said it was damaged. “Special and abnormal damage”as a result of these measures.
Firstly, the Lusa news agency reported, that in the first half of 2023’ is a state body that issued a decision emphasizing the “ high risk of using equipment from suppliers in non-EU, NATO or OECD member countries for ” national 5G networks and services security“. (source in Portuguese). It also included situations where the provider's “-dominated ” or the “-country's legal order allowed the ” government to exercise control, interference, or pressure on “'s activities in third countries.
The Portuguese news agency recalled that the decision does not directly refer to countries or companies in the sector. Although Huawei is the main target of the ban,This came after this assessment, both in the Portuguese ’ and in other European countries where similar exclusions were applied.
According to the ECO newspaper, (source in Portuguese), Huawei technology was widely used by Meo in the development of the 5G network.
Huawei filed an administrative lawsuit at the Lisbon District Administrative Court ’ against the decision in September 2023’te. After nine months, Lusa’ya, an official source at the Security Assessment Commission’, said: “ stated that ” followed the course of the case.
November 2023’te Vodafone Portugal’ general manager Luís Lopes in an interview with “Expresso” (source in Portuguese), ,The Security Assessment Commission noted that ’'s decision to exclude Huawei equipment is more “aggressive” than that implemented in other EU member states, and therefore “ is not particularly well evaluated.
NOS CEO Miguel Almeida took the same view. May 2024’te APDC’nin (Portuguese Communications Development Association) 33. Digital Business Congress’nde speaking, in comments quoted by “Dinheiro Vivo” (source in Portuguese)” said: It is worth emphasizing that the decision “ [which excludes Huawei ’ from 5G’] goes far beyond the practice common in Europe’ in terms of the diversity of network components covered by this measure.”
