Huawei's role in Britain's 5G network at risk after US sanctions, minister says
US sanctions on Huawei, which were announced last month, have made the Chinese firm a less viable supplier for Britain's 5G network, the Digital Minister has said.
Speaking at a Defence sub-committee meeting, Oliver Dowden said the new rules from Washington, preventing Huawei from using US-made equipment, were "likely to have an impact on the viability of Huawei as a provider for the 5G network".
The measures are expected to come into force in September. Over the weekend, experts told The Sunday Telegraph that they could create security risks, given they would "dramatically change the whole security of the supply chain".
It could make it tougher for Huawei to develop its own advanced chips for use in telecoms equipment and smartphones, according to cyber security experts.
Mr Dowden's comments at the parliamentary committee meeting come just days before the National Cyber Security Centre is expected to complete a review into the impact of the US sanctions on Britain's relationship with Huawei.
Mr Dowden said the review was "pretty much finished and going through the final stage".
He said the Government had asked the NCSC to carry out the evaluation and that it was "clear eyed about the potential risk of Huawei".
Up until now, the Government has said it would be limiting Huawei to non-core parts of the 5G network, and only allow it to account for 35pc of the network following concerns over its safety.
However, there have been rumours it is planning a U-Turn on that decision and instead looking to block the Chinese firm altogether.
MPs today doubled down on a warning that the Government would not receive sufficient backing for a bill allowing Huawei any role in building the infrastructure, with Mark Francois asking: "Isn't the truth that everyone including you knows that the bill is dead as a dodo unless it excludes Huawei?"
Ben Wallace, the Defence Minister, who also appeared before the committee, said he was "not happy" about high risk vendors being in the network."The Government’s policy over time is to remove high risk vendors from the network," he said.
Victor Zhang, vice president of Huawei, said: “We are investing billions to make the prime minister’s vision of a ‘connected Kingdom’ a reality so that British families and businesses have access to fast, reliable mobile and broadband networks wherever they live.
"We have been in the UK for 20 years and remain focused on working with our customers and the government to ensure the country gets the jobs and economic growth created by 5G as quickly as possible.”
