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Spanish government cancels contract with Telefonica for using Huawei gear
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 29, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 29, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Spain cancels a Telefonica contract over Huawei equipment concerns, aligning with EU security recommendations. The move reflects growing caution in Europe.
MADRID (Reuters) -The Spanish government has cancelled a fiber-optic service contract with Telefonica over the use of equipment made by China's Huawei amid concerns in Europe that such gear may pose a security risk, the Digital Transformation Ministry said.
"We confirm the cancellation of the contract for reasons of digital strategy and strategic autonomy," the ministry said in an emailed statement, without elaborating.
The report by El Pais newspaper earlier on Friday also said that through this 10 million-euro ($11.7 million) contract, Telefonica was to supply fiber-optic connections to a series of government institutions including the Defence Ministry.
A Telefonica spokesperson declined to comment.
Telefonica's Chief Operating Officer Emilio Gayo told Reuters last month that the company was "reducing its exposure to Huawei" in Spain to comply with EU recommendations to telecom operators to phase out Huawei-made devices over security concerns.
While some European countries, including Germany, have passed outright bans on the use of Huawei gear, Spain has not, and the company is reportedly keeping some equipment from the Chinese producer for the retail 5G mobile network.
($1 = 0.8542 euros)
(Reporting by Inti Landauro, Editing by Louise Heavens)
The Spanish government confirmed the cancellation for reasons related to digital strategy and strategic autonomy.
The contract was valued at 10 million euros, approximately $11.7 million.
No, Spain has not passed an outright ban on Huawei equipment, unlike some other European countries such as Germany.
Telefonica is reportedly reducing its exposure to Huawei in Spain to comply with EU recommendations for telecom operators.
Emilio Gayo, Telefonica's Chief Operating Officer, mentioned that the company is working to reduce its reliance on Huawei equipment.
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