The Italian government imposed its “golden power” over four US tech companies alongside Huawei, raising doubts as to Rome treating allies and rivals the same way
The Italian government exerted its special powers to single out four US tech providers, alongside the Chinese company Huawei, over safety concerns.
The intervention was carried out in a governmental decree dated November 6th, following a proposal of the minister for economic development, Stefano Patuanelli.
Rome took aim at Iliad, a French telco company operating in Italy, over its choice of tech suppliers for 3G and 4G telecoms equipment. Alongside Huawei are the American companies Amphenol, Ciena, Cisco, and Commscope.
All will be subjected to limitations and an extensive vetting procedure in accordance to the government’s Golden Power – i.e. its lawful intervention in the dealings of private companies for the sake of national interest –, which is standard for all non-EU tech suppliers.
Still, the move raised some eyebrows overseas, seeing as the four US companies were put on par with Chinese Huawei. The latter is accused of espionage by the US, although Beijing denies it, and has been listed by EU lawmakers as a “high risk vendor.”
The Italian committee bridging Parliament and intelligence services (COPASIR) also agrees that the Chinese company poses a security risk; in December 2019, it urged the government to exclude it from the construction of Italy’s 5G network. The same cannot be said of US businesses.
Crucially, the fact that the Golden Power committee operates exclusively under the direction of the Italian government furthers the suspicion that this move was politically charged.
Formiche.net spoke to an expert who has worked extensively in the Golden Power committee and would rather remain anonymous. He noted that the vetting process would entail standard procedures, such as contract terms and the request to probe the equipment’s source code.
“However, the political fact is under everyone’s eyes,” he continued; “one blow to Huawei to avoid displeasing the US, and one blow to US companies to reassure the Chinese. Essentially, trying to have it both ways.”
This is the second time in the space of a few days that the government exerts its Golden Power on US companies. It had done the same on Friday, choosing to set out some limitations for the entrance of the American private equity fund KKR in a newco, dubbed Fibercop.
The latter, spawned by telco giants TIM and Fastweb, is destined to become the biggest player in another future newco – AccessCo – which will single-handedly oversee Italy’s broadband optical fibre network.
The US has been pressuring allies (including Italy) to ban Huawei altogether from their 5G network as a part of the “5G Clean Networks” initiative, sponsored by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. However, more European countries are opting for a “third way,” such as Italy’s own approach.
Nonetheless, the country still seems focussed on containing Chinese tech penetration. In October, the Golden Power committee vetoed Fastweb from installing Huawei technology in its core 5G network infrastructure. TIM dropped Huawei autonomously back in July.
