United Group, a telecoms and media company in several Balkan countries, is considering replacing parts of or all of the Huawei equipment to alternative providers, seeking to align itself with the US government. Many mobile operators in the eastern and south eastern Europe had used Huawei equipment to build up their networks as they were considered cheaper than Nokia and Ericsson. United Chairman Nikos Stathopoulos said that a gradual and measured switch to gears that are approved by the US is the right approach, while calling on governments to provide financial help for switching to new infrastructure, which would cost millions of dollars.