Boris Johnson and Donald Trump on the same side on 5G. The British government reverses the (limited) go-ahead established last January and decides to ban Huawei, the Chinese company targeted by the US president for reasons of national security, excluding it from supplies for the new 5G network in the UK from December 31.
Downing Street has banned telecoms companies from buying equipment produced by the Asian giant, giving them seven years – until 2027 – to remove the technologies from their 5G networks.
Johnson's ban comes as relations between the US and China deteriorated after Beijing imposed a new security law on Hong Kong and London's decision to welcome up to three million "exiles" from the former British colony. Also to engrave the new sanctions imposed by the US on technologies and chips which, according to London, will penalize Huawei's ability to maintain its reliability as a supplier.
Oliver Dowden, the UK's minister in charge of digital affairs, told the House of Commons that from the end of this year, new purchases of Huawei 5G equipment will be banned and that the Chinese firm's equipment must be removed from UK networks by 2027. The UK will also launch an eg consultationr prohibit the purchase of Huawei equipment for the country's fiber optic network.
Ready Huawei's reaction who through a spokesperson says: “We are very disappointed by the decision of the United Kingdom, it is bad news for all owners of a smartphone in that country, which will now be destined for a much slower internet line for telephones. Our products are safe: this is a political decision and not pertinent to safety”.
