BRITAIN on Tuesday greenlighted a limited role for Chinese telecoms giant Huawei in the country\u2019s 5G network, insisting that \u201chigh risk vendors\u201d would be excluded from \u201csensitive\u201d core infrastructure.<\/p>\n
London\u2019s decision \u2014 following a meeting of the National Security Council chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson \u2014 came shortly after Brussels said it would allow Huawei a limited 5G role in the European Union.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want world-class connectivity as soon as possible but this must not be at the expense of our national security,\u201d Britain\u2019s Digital Secretary Nicky Morgan said in reference to high-speed fifth generation networks that offer almost instantaneous data transfer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHigh risk vendors never have been and never will be in our most sensitive networks,\u201d she stressed.
\nSuch vendors will be excluded from sensitive UK locations, such as nuclear sites and military bases, while their market share is to be capped.<\/p>\n
Both Brussels and London, while never explicitly naming the Chinese giant, are grappling to find a middle way to balance Huawei\u2019s huge dominance in the 5G sector with security concerns.
\nHuawei welcomed news that it would have at least a limited role in building Britain\u2019s 5G networks, after Washington lobbied hard for the company to be sidelined completely on security concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cHuawei is reassured by the UK government\u2019s confirmation that we can continue working with our customers to keep the 5G roll-out on track,\u201d said Huawei Vice-President Victor Zhang.<\/p>\n
Washington has banned Huawei from the rollout of the next generation mobile networks because of concerns \u2014 strongly denied \u2014 that the firm could be under the control of Beijing.
\nUnlike the United States, Britain has been using Huawei technology in its systems for the past 15 years.
\n\u2013 All eyes on Washington \u2013
\nThe US had threatened to limit intelligence sharing with London in the event of Huawei winning a UK role.
\nAll eyes will now be on Washington\u2019s response to Tuesday\u2019s announcements, while analysis group Fitch warned that the US could indeed look to retaliate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe US has been putting a lot of pressure on its allies to ban Huawei, and failure to do so will raise questions about its strategy, as we expect it will look to retaliate, with threats to stop intelligence-sharing already made,\u201d Fitch said Tuesday.
\nThe matter could also meanwhile hinder the chances of a favourable Britain-US trade deal after Brexit, according to analysts.<\/p>\n
While there has been intense debate in Europe and the US about whether or not to exclude Huawei from developing 5G, Johnson on Monday insisted that the UK can have \u201ctechnological progress\u201d while preserving national security.
\nIn Brussels on Tuesday, the European Union ruled out banning the company.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not a question of discrimination, it is a question of laying down rules. They will be strict, they will be demanding and of course we will welcome in Europe all operators who are willing to apply them,\u201d a top EU official said.<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump had ordered American firms to cease doing business with market leader Huawei, and urged allies to follow suit, while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday declared that Britain faced a \u201cmomentous decision\u201d.<\/p>\n
Huawei is widely viewed as providing the most advanced alternative for super-fast data transfers behind technologies such as self-driving cars and remotely operated factory robots.
\nExisting providers of limited 5G network infrastructure in Britain include Nokia and Ericsson, while non-core elements are counted as antennae and base stations attached to masts and roofs.
\nA number of UK mobile phone operators, including EE and Vodafone, currently sell 5G services \u2014 but it is so far available only in a handful of cities, notably London and Birmingham.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BRITAIN on Tuesday greenlighted a limited role for Chinese telecoms giant Huawei in the country\u2019s 5G network, insisting that \u201chigh risk vendors\u201d would be excluded from \u201csensitive\u201d core infrastructure. London\u2019s decision \u2014 following a meeting of the National Security Council chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson \u2014 came shortly after Brussels said it would allow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":18650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,9],"tags":[733],"class_list":{"0":"post-18648","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-miscellaneous","9":"tag-miscellaneous"},"yoast_head":"\n