Europe’s China telecoms gear ban will cost $3.5 billion: report

TALLINN: Replacing Chinese telecoms equipment will cost about $3.5 billion or $7.17 per subscriber for European telecom operators, a report by industry research firm Strand Consult showed on Friday.

The forecast is a fraction of the $62 billion cost estimate in an unpublished study of industry lobby group GSMA reported by Reuters in June.

Copenhagen-based Strand Consult said examples from the United States and Australia show that restricting Huawei and ZTE from networks have not increased prices or delayed roll-outs of new 5G mobile networks.