As per the Telegraph, a report leaked from the National Cyber Security Centre of UK’s GCHQ reveals the country’s plan to phase out Huawei from building its 5G plans. This is after the Centre considering new sanctions laid by the US against Huawei, which could now be using untrusted technologies which could be a risk to the UK. Thus, it’s now planning to reverse Boris Johnson’s decision as soon as this year.
UK May Ban Huawei From Its 5G Plans
Trump administration’s strongarm against Huawei has been successful so far, as the FCC has declared Huawei and ZTE as national threats and barred from dealing with US companies. Further, the US has also been actively convincing other nations to avoid using Huawei’s technologies too. While few countries like Taiwan and Australia did block Huawei, now the UK seems to join the list by barring Huawei in its 5G deal.
As per the Telegraph, UK’s National Cyber Security Centre of GCHQ is planning to phase out Huawei from building its 5G infrastructure. While the official announcement is still pending, it may be announced before July 22nd before the summer recess. This decision is made after considering the US latest sanctions on Huawei, to need an export license if dealing with US companies. Further, the US can even block Huawei from accessing its technologies citing security issues.
All these reasons sum up to let the UK re-think their Prime Minister’s past decision, where Boris Johnson had let Huawei supply 5G infrastructure to non-core areas, with a limit of 35% in total. Citing this issue, Victor Zhang, VP of Huawei said to Bloomberg,
“We are working closely with our customers to find ways of managing the proposed U.S. restrictions so the UK can maintain its current lead in 5G. We believe it is too early to determine the impact of the proposed restrictions, which are not about security, but about the market position.”
