Faced with the threat of new restrictions on China's Huawei, its main supplier of networking equipment, German telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom has decided to give Nokia another chance to strike a partnership, sources told Reuters.
Deutsche Telekom has asked Nokia to improve its products and services in order to win a tender to roll out 5G wireless networks in Europe, according to sources and documents.
Documents prepared by Deutsche Telekom's management team for internal meetings and negotiations with Nokia between July and November last year also reveal that the German group considers Nokia the worst of all providers in tests and 5G rollout.
This is probably why Europe's largest telecom operator has abandoned Nokia's services as a supplier of radio equipment for all but one of the markets in the region.
Deutsche Telekom's willingness to give Nokia another chance is indicative of the challenges mobile companies are facing due to pressure from the United States on allies to ban Huawei equipment from their 5G networks. Washington claims that Huawei equipment can be used by Beijing for espionage. The Chinese firm categorically denies this accusation.
While Deutsche Telekom is considering new deals with Huawei, it is also increasingly relying on the second major telecommunications provider, Sweden's Ericsson.
Source: 3dnews.ru