British officials recommend ‘limited’ 5G role for Huawei
British officials have reportedly recommended granting Huawei a limited role in the UK’s 5G network, despite US calls for a complete ban over security fears.
The recommendation was made at a meeting of senior government officials and security chiefs this morning, Reuters reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
It comes ahead of a meeting of the National Security Council next week to decide how to deploy Huawei’s equipment.
Government officials proposed barring Huawei from the sensitive, data-heavy so-called core part of the network and restricted government systems, according to the report.
This would mirror a provisional decision made in 2019 under former PM Theresa May.
“The technical and policy guidance hasn’t changed. Now it is down to political calculation”, a source told the news agency.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “The work on the issue of high risk vendors in the 5G network remains ongoing and when it is completed it will be announced to parliament.”
This morning, business secretary Andrea Leadsom told Sky News that the UK was close to making a final decision on the network.
She said: “Ideally there would be more providers of infrastructure similar to the work that Huawei does but the UK is looking very carefully at this issue and we will be making a final decision soon.”
Last year the US banned companies from selling components and technology to the Chinese software company, citing national security concerns.
This month a US delegation presented the UK with a dossier of technical information challenging Britain’s assessment of Huawei’s 5G infrastructure.
The UK will be forced to balance its trade ties with China and the so-called special relationship with the US.