Telecom Italia reportedly excluded Huawei from participating in its tender to supply 5G equipment for its core network in Italy and Brazil, as the Chinese vendor’s issues continue to mount.

Reuters reported, citing two sources, the operator had invited Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia, Mavenir and Affirmed Networks to bid, with Huawei a notable omission.

Huawei was not previously involved in building Telecom Italia’s existing core in Italy, so the move does not come as a surprise.

However, it does represent a loss in Brazil, where the Chinese vendor supplied 4G equipment in the core for Telecom Italia’s Brazilian subsidiary TIM Brasil.

Huawei has also been actively involved in 5G trials with all of Brazil’s operators, however doubts surfaced last month about its involvement after the US government offered operators in the country incentives to shun the Chinese vendor.

The head of Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies, Rodrigo Maia, reportedly attempted to diffuse the situation, stating the country’s 5G policies should not be swayed by ideology.

In Italy, the country is still weighing whether to impose a ban on Huawei’s participation in 5G network construction, Reuters added.

Huawei is potentially also facing a 5G ban in the UK.