Yahoo Finance Government prepares to ban Huawei from 5G networks
The Government is expected to order telecoms businesses to remove all Huawei equipment from the UK's 5G networks later today, triggering a renewed clash with Beijing.
The Prime Minister is chairing a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) this morning, which is expected to end any involvement by the firm in building the 5G system.
The National Security Council will review the results of an emergency report into upcoming US sanctions carried out by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
The report is likely to conclude that the new US sanctions, set to be introduced in September, risk causing gaps in supplies of vital components from Huawei.
The NCSC has already written to the country’s largest operators urging them to build up a stockpile of Huawei kit in case the US sanctions cause severe supply constraints.
Huawei confirmed on Tuesday morning that its UK chairman, Lord Browne, had resigned from his position at the company which he has held since 2015. Lord Browne warned last week that a Government decision to ban Huawei from 5G networks could seriously harm relations with China.
The decision – following intense pressure from both the US administration of Donald Trump and backbench Tory MPs – marks a major U-turn by the Government.
On Monday, Mr Johnson was sent a letter by 60 Tory rebels, including former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, warning him that he must end Huawei's involvement in the mobile phone network "without unreasonable delay", with senior party members pushing for a total ban on new Huawei equipment by early next year.
If the rebels do not get their way, they will amend the forthcoming Telecommunications Security Bill, which will be introduced later this year. There are more than enough rebels to overturn Mr Johnson's 80-seat majority and effectively dictate policy to him by inflicting a major defeat over the Bill.
In January, ministers announced Huawei could play a limited role in the 5G network, despite warnings that its equipment could be used by China for espionage or to disrupt the UK's critical national infrastructure.
However, it is expected that the Government will now announce that no new Huawei equipment can be installed in the network from as early as next year.
It is also expected to announce a so-called "rip out" date by which all the existing Huawei equipment must be removed.
Donald Trump’s administration has accused Huawei of having a close relationship with the Chinese government and army, which it has warned could mean that its equipment is co-opted for espionage purposes.
Huawei executives have denied these claims and offered to sign “no-spy” agreements with governments around the world.
Today’s announcement will trigger a years-long national effort to remove functioning 4G and 5G equipment built by Huawei. The cost to operators of the removal has been estimated at up to £2bn by Enders Analysis.
BT and Vodafone, the largest operators to use Huawei kit, have warned that removal of the Chinese equipment could cause signal blackouts as well as delays to the continued roll-out of 5G across the country.
Telecoms businesses are set to lobby the Government for a compensation package which may include financial compensation for removing Huawei equipment, as well as other benefits including reduced prices in Ofcom’s upcoming spectrum auction and cheaper annual licence fees for their use of the country’s 5G spectrum.
