Chamber of Deputies passes the draft law on 5G

The draft law on 5G, which might rule out the Huawei operator from the telecom networks from Romania, has been adopted by the Chamber of Deputies today, by 277 votes in favour, one against, and 23 abstentions, after it had been previously adopted in the special committees by a majority of votes, in the form adopted by the Government.

The most relevant rejected amendments were initiated by PSD MP Daniel Tudorache. He basically asked that 5G producers to be authorized based on some technical standards, while the replacement of the equipment from the networks in the case of operators that don’t secure the CSAT consent, to be done within 5 years, not in 9 years.

The only vote against the 5G bill was given by Lasca Mihai Ioan, independent lawmaker, former AUR. All 23 abstentions came from AUR deputies.

The 5G draft law will be debated in the Senate, which is the decision making chamber, in emergency procedure.

Overall 7 amendments were submitted to the draft law, with all being rejected. Gabriel Grosaru, representing the minorities group, filed 3 amendments, and PSD MP Daniel Tudorache filed 4.

Tudorache’s amendments targeted precisely what the Chinese from Huawei and telecom operators (Orange, Vodafone, Telekom and DIGI) are currently criticising about the current form of the bill: the lack of technical standards through which a 5G producer is authorized by the Supreme Defence Council (CSAT).