UK lawmakers ask Prime Minister Boris Johnson to speed up Huawei 5G ban by two years to 2025
- If the ban is shifted two years earlier, the government should look at compensating operators such as BT Group and Vodafone, report says
- In July, Johnson’s government said phone companies would be banned from buying 5G equipment from Huawei at the end of this year
A committee of UK lawmakers called on the government to consider banning China’s Huawei Technologies from fifth-generation wireless networks two years earlier than the current 2027 plan.
“Should pressure from allies for a speedier removal continue or should China’s threats and global position change so significantly to warrant it, the government should consider whether a removal by 2025 is feasible and economically viable,” the politicians wrote in the report into the security of 5G networks, published Thursday.
Such a move would impose heavier costs on telecom operators and the economy, but international tensions could force the UK’s hand, the House of Commons Defence Committee said in the report.
In July, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government said phone companies would be banned from buying 5G equipment from Huawei at the end of this year and forced to remove the gear from networks entirely by 2027. Officials said US sanctions introduced in May made it impossible to verify the security of Huawei’s supply chain. A limited Huawei presence was previously considered a manageable risk.
A debate to vote the 2027 ban into law is expected in coming months. Some lawmakers have suggested they will agitate for an earlier removal, arguing Huawei is influenced by China’s Communist government and constitutes a security threat, which the company denies.
