EE and Vodafone pull Huawei phones from 5G launch
Mobile operators drop Chinese tech giant from their networks after Google restricted its use of apps
TWO of Britain’s leading mobile operators have pulled Huawei phones from their 5G networks in the wake of Google’s announcement to limit the firm’s access to its apps.
Bt-owned EE and Vodafone announced they were severing ties with the Chinese tech giant just days before they were due to launch 5G services. The news comes in the same week as Google said it would restrict the Chinese company from using its Android operating system, meaning Huawei phones will no longer be able to access certain apps, such as Google Maps and Youtube.
EE will launch its 5G service next week, offering customers internet speeds that are several times faster than current 4G capabilities.
However, the network provider will no longer be offering Huawei’s 5G phones, according to the Financial Times.
It said it did not have the “surety of service” it needed to offer long-term contracts. “We’ve had to hold that back,” Marc Allera, EE chief executive said. The provider will still be selling Samsung and Oneplus 5G mobile devices.
Last month this newspaper revealed that Theresa May had given the green light for Huawei to help build parts of the 5G network, despite concerns over whether it poses a risk to national security. The disclosure provoked heated debate both domestically and internationally, with the US warning that it risked harming intelligence sharing arrangements between the two countries.
Chinese companies are legally obliged to co-operate with the state’s intelligence agencies, a principle that has raised significant concerns in the West.
The US, Australia and New Zealand have all barred Huawei from supplying key elements of their telecoms infrastructure. Canada is still reviewing its position. Last year New Zealand became the latest country to bar a local network from using Huawei’s 5G gear.
Huawei denies having any ties to the Chinese government. However, critics point out that Ren Zhengfei, its founder, was in the country’s army and joined the Communist Party in 1978. There are questions about how independent any large Chinese company can be.
5G will initially launch in six cities: London, Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester, with more to follow before the end of the year and into 2020.
Vodafone also said it would suspend Huawei’s Mate X phone from its 5G line-up because “Huawei’s 5G handset is yet to receive the necessary certifications”.
Rival O2, however, has confirmed that it will continue to stock Huawei 5G phones for the time being.
Yesterday, two Japanese carriers postponed the release of Huawei handsets, due to take place later this week, to allow them time to “confirm if our customers will be able to use the equipment with a sense of safety”.
A Huawei spokesman said: “We value our close relationships with our partners, but recognise the pressure some of them are under, as a result of politically motivated decisions.
“We are confident this regrettable situation can be resolved and our priority remains to continue to deliver world-class technology and products to our customers around the world.”
‘[We] recognise the pressure some [partners] are under, as a result of politically motivated decisions’