Huawei Photo: Deng Zijun/GT

The Stockholm Administrative Court on Monday temporarily suspended an October ruling by Swedish telecoms regulator Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) that excludes Huawei from the country's 5G spectrum auction, a crucial "turning point" that will have a positive influence on Huawei's fate in other European countries, according to observers.

Certain parts of PTS' decision prior to the upcoming 5G auctions will not apply until further notice, the Stockholm administrative court said in a decision. The decision would allow Huawei's involvement in Sweden's 5G spectrum auction that was initially scheduled for Tuesday but which, in the wake of the Stockholm Administrative Court's decision, PTS said will now be postponed.

According to the PTS' announcement on October 20, operators participating in the auctions for 3.5 GHz and 2.3 GHz frequency bands were not allowed to use equipment from Huawei and Chinese telecom firm ZTE Corp.

Huawei appealed the PTS' decision to the court last Thursday, saying the decision circumvented the legally mandated due process: "They did not seek sufficient feedback and comments from industry stakeholders before making this decision, and they have yet to provide any legitimate reason for the decision," Huawei said in the statement sent to the Global Times on Saturday, adding the Swedish telecoms regulator's actions lacked "neutrality, independence, and objectivity."

"The Swedish court's ruling can be seen as a turning point for Huawei's presence in Europe's 5G establishment, as more European countries are likely to follow Sweden's move to adopt Huawei products," Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"This could mean that US president-elect Joe Biden may reverse incumbent president Donald Trump's crackdown on Huawei in order to accelerate the US' 5G establishment, causing hawkish politicians in European countries to perhaps back down," Xiang said.

He added that several Swedish telecommunications companies already have a relationship with Huawei, and they would face huge additional costs if they are not allowed to use Huawei equipment, which will seriously delay Sweden's 5G deployment.