UK hints Huawei 5G ban may be overturned in the future

[[334143]]

This article is reproduced from Leiphone.com. If you need to reprint it, please go to Leiphone.com official website to apply for authorization.

Following the UK government's announcement of the Huawei 5G ban on July 14, the Guardian reported on the 18th that the UK government had in-depth discussions and confidential communications with Huawei executives a few days before the ban was issued. Huawei was told that geopolitical factors influenced the decision, but if Trump fails to be re-elected (it is reported that the US presidential election will be held in November 2020), the decision may be reconsidered in the future.

The report also revealed that Huawei executives have publicly announced that they hope the UK will reconsider, apparently encouraged by the move.

In a public statement, Huawei has been banned due to new security concerns raised by the UK National Cyber ​​Security Centre (NCSC).

Subsequently, Oliver Dowden, the British Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports, said that the new sanctions prohibit the sale of US-made components to Huawei, which means that Chinese companies will have to purchase them from other channels. "The new US measures restrict Huawei's ability to use British technology or software to produce important products. The National Cyber ​​Security Center has reconsidered the consequences of this US move..."

The NCSC report said they had conducted a security assessment of Huawei's presence in the UK's 5G network. Given the uncertainty in Huawei's supply chain upstream and downstream, the UK is no longer confident that it can guarantee that Huawei will not be affected by the US ban, resulting in security issues with Huawei's 5G equipment.

The move comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to provide superfast broadband to every home and business in the country by 2025.

It is worth mentioning that at a press conference held at the White House on the 14th, Trump immediately praised the UK's decision, "I do this most of the time," and said he was trying to force other countries not to use Huawei.

"I think it's a sensible decision," said Health Secretary Matt Hancock. "Anyone can try to argue for it because it's based on a technical assessment by the National Cyber ​​Security Centre about how we can have the highest quality 5G networks in the future."

However, Kevan Jones, now a member of the House of Commons Intelligence and Security Committee, believes that the US pressure has shaken the British government. "Of course, security should be the first priority, but it is clear that this decision was made for geopolitical reasons rather than considering the economic cost to the UK."

Attached is the previous statement from Huawei:

"This decision is disappointing and bad news for all mobile phone users in the UK. It could put the UK on the slow track of digital development, increase consumer communications costs, and deepen the digital divide. Rather than 'improving', this move will lower the level of development in the UK, and we urge the government to reconsider this decision. We are confident that the new US regulatory measures will not affect the resilience and security of the products we provide to the UK."

A DCMS spokesperson said:

"We have banned the purchase of any new Huawei 5G equipment after December 31 this year, and will remove all Huawei equipment from 5G networks by the end of 2027. This is a decision made by the Minister of the National Security Council based on the technical and security analysis of the UK National Cyber ​​Security Centre."