UK Bans Huawei 5G Equipment from Next September

The United Kingdom will ban the installation of 5G equipment from China’s Huawei from the end of September next year.

The restriction, which was first reported by Bloomberg last Monday, is part of an “initial” package of 250 million pounds ($333 million) in measures to diversify Britain’s wireless offering announced by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport. The stricter rules may also help avoid a challenge by Conservative Party lawmakers. Thus, seeking even tougher restrictions on the Chinese network equipment maker.

British lawmakers announced in July that Shenzhen-based Huawei would face a ban from Britain’s next-generation mobile networks in 2027, with purchases banned from January next year. To adhere to those rules, phone companies would have to stop adding Huawei components eventually. However, the new ban could speed up their plans to adjust the systems. They will be allowed to keep existing equipment.

The Government starts Building a ‘National Telecoms Lab’ to reduce dependency on Nordic companies

The offense followed an effort by the US to exclude Huawei allies to be an unacceptable security threat. The company denied any criminal wrongdoing. According to British officials, Huawei could play a limited role with manageable risks in January. They have since reversed that stance and backed a ban following US sanctions introduced in May. In fact, saying the US restriction on Huawei’s chip supply chain meant guaranteeing security was no longer possible.

Telecoms operators like BT Group Plc will now depend on a duopoly of Nokia Oyj and Ericsson AB. Those Nordic companies have already won significant contracts in the wake of the Huawei ban. To help reduce that dependency, the government will start a Telecommunications Laboratory in 2022 to investigate security and increase compatibility between providers. It will finance trials with potential competitors such as Japan’s NEC Corp to facilitate the entry of competitors to the market. Establishing a path to phase out older 2G and 3G technologies would also speed up the diversification process, according to the government statement.

Operators faced a veto from outsourcing service management to Huawei from April 2021, except in limited circumstances, the government said. A consultation on the rules for the fixed broadband network is also underway.

According to the 5G supply chain strategy released Monday, the UK will consider trade incentives to help operators diversify. Officials will work with “like-minded countries” to stimulate demand as the UK only accounts for 2% of global vendor revenue.