This archive report was first published on 14 July 2020.
On Tuesday, Britain's National Security Council, chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, will meet to discuss Huawei's involvement in the country's 5G network. The decision comes after the US pushed Johnson to reverse his January decision to grant Huawei a limited role in 5G, citing the Chinese company as a security risk.
According to sources, the immediate reason for the policy change is the impact of new US sanctions on chip technology, which London claims affects Huawei's ability to remain a reliable supplier. This has left Huawei and its customers, including BT, Vodafone, and Three, waiting to see how extensive the new ban will be and how quickly it will be implemented.
BT boss Philip Jansen has stated that the company needs at least five years, and ideally seven, to remove Huawei from its network. He warned that if the ban were to be implemented quickly, it could put service for 24 million BT Group mobile customers at risk of outages.
Other companies, such as Vodafone, have also expressed concerns about the cost of removing Huawei gear, with estimates suggesting it could cost in the 'single figure billions' of pounds.
China has responded to the news, with its ambassador to Britain stating that a ban on Huawei would damage Britain's image and that the country would have to 'bear the consequences' if it treated China as a hostile country.
Published on July 14, 2020 by The Standard.
