UK Government to ban Installation of Huawei’s 5G Network

 A report on CNET recently stated that the UK government has laid out a roadmap for removing all telecoms equipment made by “high risk vendors,” including Huawei, from the country’s 5G network by 2027. As part of the roadmap, a spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said that the UK carriers will no longer be able to install Huawei equipment beginning September 2021.

Earlier in July, The UK government had announced that Huawei equipment would be banned from the country’s 5G network and their existing equipment needs to be phased out latest by 2027. It’s a U-turn from what was announced in January, the UK government said, Huawei’s market share will be restricted to 35% and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has received increasing pressure from the United States in the past year, asking the UK to follow its steps and directly ban Huawei's equipment. But only after the United States introduced new trade sanctions in May to prohibit Huawei from using American technology in its products, the United Kingdom finally decided to ban Huawei equipment.

British operators now need to start removing Huawei equipment from their 5G networks, most of which were introduced in 2019. "Today, I am setting a clear path for the complete removal of high-risk suppliers from our 5G network," said Oliver Dowden, the UK's Minister of department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports, "This will be achieved through new and unprecedented powers to identify and prohibit telecommunications equipment that poses a threat to our national security."

While removing Huawei equipment, the UK will also launch a new 5G supply chain diversification strategy, which will establish a path to introduce new suppliers to the market, ensuring that the network has a wide range of kits manufactured by different companies to improve security. To kick off this strategic project, the British government will initially invest pounds 250 million in innovation projects, including the establishment of a security research lab, the National Telecommunications Laboratory. Dawden said in the statement that he hopes that the diversification strategy will "ensure that we will never rely on a few telecom vendors to ensure the smooth and safe operation of the network."

This strategy is welcome by members of the telecommunications industry, including Scott Petty, Vodafone's chief technology officer, and Hamish MacLeod, director of the British operator Mobile UK's industry association, "This will nurture British talent, promote innovation and competition, and provide more jobs and investment for the entire economy," MacLeod said in a statement.

"This government's strategy and financial commitment is good for the industry, and it is also good for the smaller British technology companies, which can only develop with the right support from the government." Petty added.