Orange to reduce reliance on Huawei equipment in Europe: CEO

PARIS (Reuters) – Orange , France’s number one telecoms operator, expects to reduce its reliance on Huawei mobile equipment in Europe in the medium term, Chief Executive Officer Stphane Richard said on Thursday.

The group doesn’t use mobile equipment made by the Chinese firm in France, in contrast with Spain and Poland, its two biggest markets on the continent after its home country.

“In Europe there are countries where we use Huawei, but the medium term trend is to reduce the proportion of parts of Huawei in our network equipment,” Richard said in a call with analysts.

“In Africa (where the group also has operations), the question is much less sensitive and relevant than in Europe,” he added.

(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Geert De Clercq)