HUAWEI BANNED... BY 2027
Ditching firm’s tech any sooner would lead to blackouts, minister tells rebels
BRITAIN could face mobile phone blackouts if it tries to boot out Huawei even more quickly, ministers warned Tory rebels last night.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden yesterday confirmed a partial ban on the Chinese telecoms giant after a review found it could pose a security risk to the UK’s new 5G mobile network.
Internet firms have been ordered to stop using Huawei kit in 5G systems by the end of this year and to strip out all existing equipment by 2027. Mr Dowden said the decision would delay the introduction of 5G, which promises lightning fast download speeds, by up to three years. It will also lead to additional costs of up to £2billion, meaning higher bills for mobile users.
Firms will be allowed to continue using Huawei equipment in 3G, 4G and fibre broadband networks for now. Tory MPs welcomed the partial ban – but said it did not go far enough and called for the kit to be removed within four years. It came as:
Chinese ambassador Liu Xiaoming condemned the UK ban and said it raised questions about whether Britain offers ‘ an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment’ for foreign companies;
But Washington welcomed the move, saying it would boost ‘Transatlantic security’ and prowho tect the public’s privacy and national security;
It emerged that Britain could deploy HMS Queen Elizabeth, a new aircraft carrier, to East Asia to help deter a resurgent China;
A dispute between China and the US over Beijing’s claim to resources in the South China Sea escalated, with Washington threatening sanctions.
Ministers were last night facing the prospect of a rebellion in the autumn by MPs who want the government to remove all Huawei kit from the UK’s critical national infrastructure by 2024.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said there was ‘no reason’ why Huawei equipment could not be removed from 5G by then – and said the firm was also a ‘security risk’ to 3G and 4G networks.
But Mr Dowden warned moving further and faster could lead to the temporary loss of mobile signals in parts of the country.
Asked about the possibility of blackouts, he said: ‘It is absolutely right to raise the risk of that kind of disruption and blackouts, and that’s one of the reasons that led us to the timetable we’ve set out.
‘Put bluntly, the shorter the timetable for the removal, the higher the risk of that happening.’
A Whitehall source said: ‘This is a significant step which rolls back Huawei’s involvement in the UK. It already comes at a significant cost. Go further and faster then you run the risk that people’s mobile phones will stop working.’
Yesterday’s move represents a significant U-turn from ministers, ruled in January that Huawei was safe enough to be allowed to take 35 per cent of the 5G market.
Mr Dowden yesterday said the change of heart had been prompted by tough US sanctions that will prevent Huawei from using any microchips that rely on American technology.
MPs were told the move raised questions about whether the firm would be capable of supplying reliable 5G components in the medium term.
And security sources said they would be unable to guarantee the safety of any Chinese- designed alternatives produced by Huawei to get round the ban.
However, ministers had also come under intense pressure from the US and other intelligence allies to prevent Huawei gaining a foothold in the 5G infrastructure of a major western nation.
Washington last night hailed the UK’s decision, with the White House saying Huawei was a national security threat because it was ‘ beholden to the Chinese communist party’.
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said: ‘Today’s decision by the UK to ban Huawei from its 5G networks advances Transatlantic
‘Protect privacy and security’ ‘A win for fair trade and human rights’
security in the 5G era while protecting citizens’ privacy, national security, and free-world values.’
Ambassador to Britain Woody Johnson added: ‘Britain’s decision to protect its national security by banning Huawei from its 5G network is also a win for fair trade and human rights.’
But Chinese ambassador Liu Xiaoming described the UK’s move as ‘disappointing and wrong’, adding: ‘It has become questionable whether the UK can provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for companies from other countries.’
Mr Liu has previously warned of ‘consequences’ for the UK if it went ahead with a ban on one of China’s national champions.
Mr Dowden said the Government would ‘not be cowed by the comments of any other country’, adding: ‘This decision has been made in the national security interests of this nation.’ Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons defence committee, warned there would be ‘repercussions from China’ but said it was right to ‘reset’ relations.
Huawei, which denies being controlled by the Chinese state, accused ministers of taking a politicised decision which would ‘move Britain into the digital slow lane, push up bills and deepen the digital divide’.
Company spokesman Ed Brewster said it was ‘bad news for anyone in the UK with a mobile phone’.
A source close to the Tory Huawei rebels said: ‘The fight is back on. The fact that telecoms firms can stockpile Huawei kit – at bargain-basement rates – for another six months and install it for years is equally unacceptable.’