⁍ Telecoms operators Orange Belgium and Proximus have decided to progressively replace Huawei-made mobile equipment in Belgium and Luxembourg with Nokia gear.

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⁍ The sources said the operators had faced political pressure to drop Huawei as a supplier following U.S. accusations that Huawei’s gear could be used for spying by Beijing.

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⁍ China and Huawei deny the spying allegations.

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– Two of Belgium’s major telecom operators have decided to stop using mobile network equipment made by China’s Huawei Technologies, sources tell Reuters. The sources say the operators, Orange Belgium and Proximus, have decided to progressively replace Huawei-made mobile equipment in Belgium and Luxembourg with Nokia gear. The sources say the operators, which share their mobile network, had faced political pressure to drop Huawei as a supplier following US accusations that Huawei’s equipment could be used for spying by Beijing. Orange and Proximus did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday evening, while Huawei had no immediate comment. The move by Orange and Proximus represents one of the first cases in Europe where commercial operators have dropped Huawei from their next-generation mobile Internet, or 5G, networks in response to political pressure. China and Huawei deny the spying allegations. But Belgium’s capital Brussels is home to the European Union’s executive body and parliament, making it a strategic location and a matter of particular concern for US intelligence agencies. “There’s a profound insistence on the need to push Huawei towards the exit,” one of the two sources said. “There’s also a growing concern about Huawei’s capacity to produce its equipment.” France, the EU’s second-largest economy, will de facto ban Huawei’s mobile equipment by 2028, sources close to the matter said in July.