Polish state-owned telecom group Exatel wants a consortium of private and state companies to develop 5G network infrastructure to keep costs low and enable the government to ensure there are no security concerns, Reuters reported.

This news follows reports last week that Huawei is committed to working with Poland to address security issues and build trust in the country, as the government considered banning it from participating in 5G network deployments.

Exatel CEO Nikodem Boncza Tomaszewski told the news agency: “The problems of Chinese equipment manufacturers certainly increase awareness that the state should maintain a certain degree of control over the telecommunications infrastructure…this is guaranteed by the 5G wholesale operator model proposed by Exatel”.

Tomaszewski also said Exatel should have a say in how operators Orange Polska, Polkomtel, T-Mobile Polska and Play develop 5G networks.

He added state companies with telecommunications needs including energy and rail companies should be part of the consortium, which should oversee 5G network construction for the 700MHz band.

Orange Polska told Reuters it did not see the need for this but added “we do not rule out cooperation between operators for the 700MHz band on the basis of voluntary decisions of individual operators.”

Zygmunt Solorz-Zak, the main shareholder of Polkomtel parent Cyfrowy Polsat, said earlier this month Poland should build one 5G network for fast and effective implementation.

The country is one of several in Europe considering a ban on Huawei following pressure from US officials.