It seems Nokia is flummoxed by the decision taken by the Romanian government in February not to grant two of its subsidiaries so-called CSAT authorization to provide 5G infrastructure.

The Finnish supplier confirmed media reports that it has kickstarted legal action against the government, and is trying to establish the thinking behind the ban in the first place.

The decision to block Nokia was taken by Romania's Supreme Council of National Defense (Consiliul Suprem de Apărare a Ţării, or CSAT for short) in February. It was then promptly signed off by Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă.

Figure 1: The Finnish supplier is seeking "urgent clarification" from the Romanian government while starting legal proceedings.
(Source: Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash)

The two Nokia companies not passing 5G muster in CSAT's eyes are Nokia Solutions and Networks OY, and Nokia Networks SRL.

Romania-based Nokia Networks SRL is 99.1966% controlled by Nokia Solutions and Networks OY, reports the Romania Journal, with the remaining 0.8034% owned by local company Internet City Doi SA.

It's a legal matter

Light Reading asked Nokia for further details on whether the ban applied to both RAN and core networks, the timetable to up 5G sticks if the CSAT decision was upheld, and the extent of the Finnish supplier's next-gen gear in the country.

On Nokia's website listing 5G contracts, Digi Romania gets mentioned in dispatches but there's nothing much there in the way of detail.

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Nokia, however, is keeping schtum – at least for the time being.

In a statement sent to Light Reading and other outlets, Nokia confirmed that in February "we were advised that we had been denied the authorization to provide 5G infrastructure equipment in Romania by the Romanian government."

It goes on to say "we are seeking urgent clarification for the reasons for this decision and have instigated legal proceedings. While these are underway, we will not comment further."

Nokia started its legal action on March 25, at the Bucharest Court of Appeal.

CSAT likes other suppliers better

Huawei and Ericsson, as far as Light Reading can make out, are still waiting for CSAT approval.

In the meantime, Romania's defense ministry has given the 5G thumbs up to smaller, local firms.

These include – again, as reported by the Romania Journal – Starc4Sys and Concept Electronics Security Company.

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— Ken Wieland, contributing editor, special to Light Reading