The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

London to exclude Huawei from UK 5G network

2020-07-15T11:40:28.914Z


Boris Johnson chairs this Tuesday a national security council which should seal the fate of Huawei in the British network.


The British government is preparing to announce a tightening of its position against the Chinese telecommunications equipment giant Huawei on Tuesday, which it should exclude from its 5G network at the risk of exacerbating tensions with Beijing.

Read also: Huawei: turnover up 13.1% in the first half

Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson chairs the National Security Council (NSC) on Tuesday, which is expected to seal the fate of Huawei in the British network after months of heavy pressure from the Trump administration. The latter accuses the Chinese of spying on behalf of Beijing, which Huawei denies.

Security risk

According to the British press, the government will ban the installation of new Huawei equipment in its telecoms network next year, and details will be released by Culture Minister Oliver Dowden in Parliament after the NSC meeting.

Last week, the government had waited for a hardening of its position, highlighting the security risk that may represent the presence of the Chinese equipment supplier in its infrastructure, when it had in January chosen to leave to Huawei a limited share in its future 5G network.

Read also: Huawei excluded from French networks within eight years

A ban on Huawei would force local operators to also remove equipment from the Chinese giant from their 4G facilities, on which 5G is currently built. The bosses of the telephone operators, like those of BT and Vodafone, warned that a total withdrawal of Huawei equipment from the British network would be " impossible " within ten years and would risk causing breakdowns and security problems.

" Complex external environment "

Last week, the Chinese group had assured that its exclusion would affect " the future of the digital strategy (...) of the United Kingdom ", saying that a delay of two years would cost its economy 29 billion pounds (or around 32 billion euros at current prices). On the sidelines of the publication of its results, he recalled Monday his " commitment to work with operators and industrial partners to ensure the proper functioning of networks and accelerate the digital transition " in a " complex external environment ". Boris Johnson had made a campaign promise to improve the British telecom network.

Read also: Huawei: Beijing calls on Paris to guarantee a “fair” environment for Chinese companies

Relations between the two countries have already strained in recent weeks with the entry into force of a controversial security law, imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong after protests, which provoked a strong reaction from London. Downing Street has promised to extend immigration rights, and ultimately access to British citizenship, for millions of residents of its former colony.

Source: lefigaro

All business articles on 2020-07-15

You may like

News/Politics 2024-03-25T13:06:04.055Z
News/Politics 2024-03-14T06:43:17.674Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.