In their long-awaited announcement that China’s Huawei and ZTE won’t be allowed to supply equipment for 5G wireless networks in Canada, the federal Liberals also said Thursday that telcos with the companies’ equipment in current 4G networks must remove it by the end of 2027—without compensation.

Who’s affected: Bell and Telus have been Huawei customers for their older services, but Huawei has also been a significant supplier for smaller telecom companies that serve more rural and remote areas. Saskatchewan’s SaskTel already had $200 million worth of Huawei gear in 2020 and planned to buy more. Xplornet used Huawei in its 4G systems. Iristel’s Samer Bishay told The Logic his company has “tens of millions of dollars” invested in Huawei that it will now have to get rid of.

Huawei Americas vice-president Alykhan Velshi said Thursday that since the Liberals revealed in 2018 they were considering a ban, the company has sold “several hundred million dollars worth of network equipment” in Canada and has it installed in about 10,000 locations.

The upside: At least the telcos know where they stand, Bishay said. “Sometimes a bad decision is better than no decision. The whole industry was not able to advance properly pending this decision.”

Competitive consequences: Bishay (whose company is suing the Canada Revenue Agency over a multimillion-dollar tax dispute) added that he expects Bell and Telus will be able to absorb the costs of replacing Huawei equipment but “applying the same rules to all operators, big or small, will further un-level the playing field.”

Neither Bell nor Telus responded to inquiries from The Logic Thursday or Friday. The National Post reported last fall that they’d written to the government saying they expected compensation if they had to take 4G Huawei equipment out.

Xplornet vice-president of public affairs Johanne Sénécal said the company has been ready: “In anticipation of the government of Canada’s decision on this matter, Ericsson has been Xplornet’s primary supplier for 4G and 5G network equipment and managed services,” she said by email, pointing to a 2020 announcement about 5G plans.

P.S. China’s not happy: Spokesperson Wang Wenbin of China’s foreign ministry was restrained but clear in a Beijing news conference, according to an official English transcript. “This move violates the market economy principle and free trade rules and severely harms the Chinese companies’ legitimate rights and interests. The Chinese side is firmly opposed to it,” he said. China’s government will “take all means necessary” to protect those interests, Wang said.