Ukrainian Telecom Giant to Rebuild With Chinese Kit for Now
- Company to spend $600 million on reconstruction and upgrades
- European Commission has labeled Huawei and ZTE as “high-risk”
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Ukraine’s biggest telecom operator pledged to boost spending by a third to rebuild systems destroyed by Russian forces, relying on Chinese suppliers for the time being as its Western allies are pulling back.
Kyivstar plans to spend $600 million on reconstruction, upgrades and digital services in the next three years, Chief Executive Officer Oleksandr Komarov said in an interview with Bloomberg in London. The company, owned by Dutch-domiciled Veon Ltd., will use longstanding vendors like Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. to rebuild the critical infrastructure.