The companies Chief Technology and Information Officer (CTIO) said the move was not for political reasons but on technical grounds.

Until now, Telefonica has relied on Huawei for its core 4G networks in key markets of Spain and Germany, but under the new strategy, this will disappear by 2024.

Huawei equipment slots less well into networks whose various layers come from different providers, a structure which helps ensure the security of service, Blanco said.

“When the core comes from a single vendor, the probability is high that a failure in one part stops the whole network”, he said.

He pointed out that there was no evidence to support President Donald Trump’s allegations that Huawei gear is insecure, Blanco said.

“We have no evidence of back doors ... we monitor every day.”

Telefonica was concerned that “no vendor, regardless of their nationality, has all the information in their system”.

It would continue to use Huawei radios and antennas that connect smartphones to the mobile network, equipment which accounts for the bulk of the cost, Blanco said.