United Kingdom to phase out Huawei equipment in 5g network before 2027
UK providers are going to ban all Huawei equipment from their 5g networks. Existing equipment will be phased out and replaced before the end of 2027, and new equipment will be banned. This is because of the sanctions imposed by the US government.
The British House of Commons voted today a law which prohibits the use of Huawei equipment in 5g networks. All Huawei equipment must be replaced by alternatives before the end of 2027. After December 31, 2020, no new equipment may be purchased from the company either. The ban on Huawei use in core parts of networks remains in place.
The House of Commons follows the advice of the National Cyber Security Center in the country. That researched the consequences of the American sanctions for Huawei. Those sanctions would force Huawei to use equipment in which the NCSC and the National Security Council “have no confidence” when it comes to security. The new restrictions make it impossible to guarantee the safety of Huawei equipment in the future.
The government has subsequently decided that Huawei equipment should not only be replaced in 5G networks, but also at fiber providers. However, the UK has been working for some time to make those providers less dependent on a single supplier. The timeline to replace equipment for those providers is still being researched, but the government expects that to take “no longer than two years”.
The timeline from now to 2027 is partly based on the wishes of the providers themselves. Earlier, BT and Vodafone said they needed five years to phase out the equipment on the networks. There have also been rumors for some time that the country’s security services wanted to ban Huawei equipment.
The decision comes a few months after Minister Boris Johnson stated that Huawei could still participate in building the 5G network. Digital Affairs Minister Oliver Dowden says the new decision will delay the rollout of the country’s 5G network by two to three years. The government has not said anything about the costs, but they are expected to run into the billions.