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UK to purge Huawei from 5G by end of 2027, siding with Trump over China

Published 14/07/2020, 00:07
Updated 14/07/2020, 20:00
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is seen on a communications device in London, Britain

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is seen on a communications device in London, Britain

By Paul Sandle and Guy Faulconbridge

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered Huawei equipment to be purged completely from Britain's 5G network by the end of 2027, risking the ire of China by signalling that the world's biggest telecoms equipment maker is not welcome in the West.

As Britain prepares to cast off from the European Union, fears over the security of Huawei have forced Johnson to choose between global rivals the United States and China.

He had been under intense pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, while Beijing had warned London, which has sought to court China in recent years, that billions in investment would be at risk if it sided with Washington.

Reversing a January decision to allow Huawei to supply up to 35% of the non-core 5G network, Johnson banned British telecoms operators from buying any 5G equipment from Huawei by year-end and gave them seven years to rip out existing gear.

"This has not been an easy decision, but it is the right one for the UK telecoms networks, for our national security and our economy, both now and indeed in the long run," digital minister Oliver Dowden told parliament.

"By the time of the next election, we will have implemented in law an irreversible path for the complete removal of Huawei equipment from our 5G networks".

The reason given for the about-turn was the impact of new U.S. sanctions on chip technology, which Britain's National Cyber Security Centre, part of the GCHQ eavesdropping agency, had told ministers meant Huawei was not a reliable supplier.

White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said Britain's action reflected a growing consensus that Huawei and other untrusted vendors posed a threat to national security because they remained "beholden to the Chinese Communist Party".

According to a law introduced in 2017 under Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese companies have an obligation to support and cooperate in China's national intelligence work.

China's ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming called the decision "disappointing and wrong".

"It has become questionable whether the UK can provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for companies from other countries," he said.

The ban will delay the roll-out of 5G - cast as the nervous system of the future economy - by two to three years, and add costs of up to 2 billion pounds.

The Dec. 31, 2027 deadline was not as bad as British telecoms operators such as BT (L:BT), Vodafone (L:VOD) and Three (HK:0215) had feared. They were concerned that they would be forced to spend billions of pounds to rip out Huawei equipment much faster.

BT said 500 million pounds already earmarked to comply with the earlier cap would cover its costs. Its shares closed up 4%.

5G PROXY WAR?

Hanging up on Huawei marks an end to what former Prime Minister David Cameron cast as a "golden era" of ties which saw Britain pushed as Europe's top destination for Chinese capital.

But London has been dismayed by a crackdown in Hong Kong and the perception China did not tell the whole truth over the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Huawei said the decision was more about U.S. trade policy than security. "It threatens to move Britain into the digital slow lane, push up bills and deepen the digital divide," a spokesman said.

In what some have compared to the Cold War antagonism with the Soviet Union, the United States is worried that 5G dominance could lead towards Chinese technological supremacy.

After Australia first raised alarms about the risk of 5G being hijacked by a hostile state, worries in the West about Huawei have mounted. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/huawei-usa-campaign

The United States calls the company an agent of the Chinese Communist state - a view widely supported in Johnson's Conservative Party. Huawei denies it spies for China and says the United States wants to frustrate its growth because no U.S. company offers the same technology at a competitive price.

In a tweet, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the British decision "advances Transatlantic security in the #5G era while protecting citizens’ privacy, national security, and free-world values."

HUAWEI ALTERNATIVE?

British ministers say the rise to global dominance of Huawei, founded in 1987 by a former People's Liberation Army engineer, has caught the West off-guard.

Dowden said Britain was working with its allies to foster stronger rivals to Huawei, naming firms from Finland, Sweden, South Korea and Japan.

"The first thing we need to do is ensure that we protect the other two vendors in this market, so Nokia (HE:NOKIA), and Ericsson (ST:ERICb)," Dowden said. "Secondly we need to get new suppliers in, that starts with Samsung (KS:005930), and it starts with NEC (T:6701)."

Nokia and Ericsson said they stood ready to replace Huawei gear.

By allowing Huawei's equipment to remain in the 5G network until end-2027 and in older mobile networks, Johnson stopped short of demands from some lawmakers for a ban in four years.

© Reuters. Huawei headquarters building is pictured in Reading

Chinese imports to Britain doubled in the 15 years to 2018, to about 9% of all goods imported, worth 43 billion pounds.

Latest comments

If Huawei equip impacted UK national security, will other brand equipment able to do so. Changing is solution or prevention plan is better?
5G equip replacement. Who pay additional cost, UK taxpayer not US taxpayer? Will these delay 5G launch? Will UK leave behind 5G and impact other 5G technology?
Russia is in collaboration with ericson and nokia 5g network - known to be russia’s network probably used this network for its hacking activities. search first before making a sound decision on this 2 networks. trump is an ally to russia
Nokia and MTS Group to collaborate on IoT and 5G in RussiaPress ReleaseCompanies agree to define smooth network evolution pathTesting of LTE-Advanced Pro and 5G technologies will allow MTS Group to take advantage of IoT and meet ever-increasing demands from people and machines5G test network to be implemented at Russian stadium for major sports event in 2018May 18, 2016Moscow, Russia - Nokia and leading Russian telecommunications operator MTS Group have signed a collaboration agreement that will create a strategic path to the realization of 5G technology and the management of the ever-growing demands of connected people and devices. The companies will deploy a test network during an international sports event in Russia in 2018.
Be aware of nokia———————————Ericsson and Tele2 have launched Russia's first 5G zone in central Moscow on Tele2's commercial network, setting into motion an agreement they signed in June this year. The non-stop outdoor 5G coverage is live in Tverskaya Street, the busiest part of the Russian capital, stretching between Red Square to Sadovoe Ring.
nobody could expect UK to freely act against USA. it is clear that US is losing power and credibility and tries to consolidate its satellite states to slow down this decline..this decision is clear signal to world for division and conflict and polarisation and there is no peaceful way..clear hit to china as well in short term but they are used to it...they will manage...
Mon Sun every time you post comments on this site it is pro - China. You probably work for them. I think China has massively under estimated the anti-China feeling in the rest of the world who are sick of their deceitfulness, posturing and threats. Whilst my command of mandarin is non-existent your english is difficult to understand and follow. May I suggest you post on a more suitable board such as a chinese one.
Trump damaging obviously very deeply indirectly the economy of the UK. The Americans are very very bad people and this is known around the world- America only need to have one of its evil leaders in power- that side of them comes in front . Huawei depending on the international businesses- common sense would suggest can’t afford to risk to be a threat to safety and security. Only robbots will suggest into buying Trump’s bogus of such nonsense when ian individual sense is not in use. It’s also common sense to suggest the reason behind the US sends its private company recently to space not only to secure an extensive in 5G but probably also to destroy Huawei 5G in space - not sure if it can destroy Huawei, but common sense will suggest the reason behind the attempt-an extension achievable maybe not-
Lots of opinions Mon Sun. Feel free to point out any facts to back up these claims
I not a fan of Trump but I have friends in America who are very good people. I don't trust the Chinese Communist party though and I believe China is trying to hold a gun to the rest of the world with the do as we say or we'll punish you mentality. Just look at the terrorism being subjected on poor the people of Hong Kong just now. Also let's face facts that China is the bully in the playground who after hitting you puts on an innocent face and pretends they didn't, just look at the cyber attack on Australia. I hope Boris does the right thing and gives China a black eye. I'm sure if will have consequences for Britain but I'd rather have that than China being in control of Britains communication network.
shouldn‘t be taken out of context - hold the opinion tight- anyone around a bad leader in the US are all same - all
Trump intention - power drunk - is rather to allow the US to have access to spy everyone around the world to achieving its own 5G and so if we have dummy leaders and the private company achieves everyone that would be on America’s 5G will be under surveillance of the Americans and the world WILL be under America‘s spy instead. It’s not rocket science to understand this - common sense
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