On Tuesday, Britain announced it would exclude Huawei from its new high-speed phone network, saying it could not guarantee the security of Huawei equipment, and the country has decided to turn to other suppliers for components. The US has threatened to cut off an intelligence-sharing agreement with the UK over concerns that Huawei equipment could allow the Chinese government to infiltrate UK networks.
According to the UK's Culture Minister, Oliver Dowden, this decision will delay the launch of the 5G network in the country and will certainly cost millions of pounds, but it was something that had to be done.
British telecoms operators will have to remove Huawei equipment already in the 5G network by 2027, and will have to stop sourcing the company by the end of this year.
However, the government chose not to order companies to remove equipment manufactured by Huawei for older systems, such as 4G, as such a decision would create chaos in the telecommunications sector.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also come under pressure from within the Conservative Party. Ten Conservative lawmakers sent a letter to the prime minister demanding that he remove Huawei from the UK's "critical national infrastructure."
In an attempt to balance the situation, Johnson agreed in January to give Huawei a limited role in Britain's 5G network, excluding the company from key elements of the system and limiting its participation to 35% of the overall project.
However, his move has drawn criticism from the US, which has said it will stop cooperating with Britain on security if it does not remove Huawei. Amid ongoing pressure to completely remove Huawei from networks , the US in May imposed new sanctions that will prevent companies around the world from using US-made machinery or software to produce chips for the Chinese company.
Huawei expressed its disappointment and said the decision threatened to lead "Britain into digital backwardness, drive up bills and deepen the digital divide.".
