PARIS - Bouygues' will swap 3,000 Huawei-made mobile antennas in France by 2028 following a decision by the country's authorities to remove equipment made by the Chinese company from highly populated areas, Bouygues' deputy CEO said on Thursday.
French authorities have told telecoms operators planning to buy Huawei 5G equipment that they will not be able to renew licences for the gear once they expire, effectively phasing the Chinese group out of mobile networks by 2028, three sources told Reuters last month.
"A number of sites will gradually have to be dismantled," Bouygues's deputy chief executive Olivier Roussat told reporters in a call, adding that the number sites made with Huawei equipment amounted to 3,000.
"The dismantling will be carried out over a period of eight years, with a limited impact on our operating results," Roussat said.
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain. Editing by Jane Merriman) ((Mathieu.Rosemain@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 4949 5182; Reuters Messaging: mathieu.rosemain.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter: https://twitter.com/MathieuRosemain))
