Exclusive: TIM excludes Huawei from 5G core equipment tender in Italy, Brazil – sources

MILAN (Reuters) – Telecom Italia (TIM) has not invited China’s Huawei Technologies to take part in a tender to supply 5G equipment for the core network it is preparing to build in Italy and Brasil, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The list of invited suppliers comprises Cisco , Ericsson , Nokia , Mavenir and Affirmed Networks, a company recently acquired by Microsoft , one of the two sources said.

Representatives for Huawei in Italy and Brazil declined to comment.

The move comes amid reports that Italy is considering whether to exclude Huawei from building its 5G network over concerns it could open the way for China to spy on key Western telecoms infrastructure.

(Reporting by Elvira Pollina, additional reporting by Gabriela Mello in Sao Paolo, writing by Valentina Za, editing by James Mackenzie)