Huawei to be stripped from UK 5G network
The UK government bowed to US pressure yesterday and announced plans to remove equipment made by Chinese telecoms company Huawei from its 5G network.
MPs said the government made a “screeching U-turn” that further threatened its relations with China after a bitter dispute over democratic rights in Hong Kong.
Beijing warned London of reprisals, but the decision was a victory for US President Donald Trump, whose administration imposed sanctions on Huawei in May.
Washington put significant pressure on the government of Boris Johnson after it announced a deal earlier this year that would have allowed Huawei equipment to be used in the UK’s 5G network.
The US said the deal put intelligence sharing at risk.
Britain’s Minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden, said yesterday that from next year, buying new 5G Huawei equipment would be banned, and its equipment would be removed from the network by late 2027.
He said the decision followed analysis by UK cyber security experts of the effect of the US sanctions on the company.
“We can no longer rely on Huawei equipment,” he said.
Australia and New Zealand – part of an intelligence-sharing network that includes the UK, US and Canada – came out against Huawei because of national security concerns.
The company said the decision placed the UK in the “digital slow lane” and urged the government to reconsider its decision. It said the move was about US trade policy, not national security.