Chinese telecoms and mobile technology giant, Huawei, is to be stripped out of Britain’s 5G mobile network by 2027, the Boris Johnson-led UK government has announced, OYOGist.com has gathered.
The decision is coming shortly after the US President, Donald Trump announced more US sanctions punishing Huawei which bans it from using US microchips.
This move gives the US a big win over China as tensions between the two biggest and most powerful nations on earth continue to heighten in the face of a global pandemic.
The ban stipulates that mobile providers would cease to buy new Huawei 5G kits after the 31st of December, 2020,, and must strip all Huawei’s 5G kits from their services by 2027.
The decision was announced to the House of Commons by UK’s Digital Secretary, Oliver Dowden.
Dowden however revealed that the ban would delay the rollout of 5G in the UK by one year.
5G is expected to deliver faster internet speeds of up to 10 times the speed of current 4G, which would help improve the economy of countries that adopt it.
The cost of the ban against Huawei coupled with prior restrictions, Dowden revealed, would amount to £2 billion (2.5 billion dollars) and cause the 5G rollout to suffer a total of “two to three years” setback.
“This has not been an easy decision, but it is the right one for the UK telecoms networks for our national security and our economy, both now and indeed in the long run,” Dowden said.
Since the US concerns over security of installation carried by Huawei only affects future technology, the 2G, 3G and 4G installations by the company would remain.
On its part, Huawei criticized the move, calling it a “bad news for anyone in the UK with a mobile phone”. It said the decision will “move Britain into the digital slow lane, push up bills and deepen the digital divide.”
China’s ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming said the decision was “disappointing and wrong.”
“It has become questionable whether the UK can provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for companies from other countries,” Liu Xiaoming wrote on Twitter.
The US welcomed the development, with Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State for the USA saying “The UK joins a growing list of countries from around the world that are standing up for their national security by prohibiting the use of untrusted, high-risk vendors.”
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