Great Britain: Huawei excluded from its own 5G network

The exclusion of Chinese tech giant Huawei from its own 5G network announced the government of Great Britain.

Η This decision was taken by the government, citing risks to the country's security, thus hardening its position vis-.-vis China, which speaks of a "political" and "disappointing" decision.

The purchase of new Huawei equipment will be banned from the end of 2020 and the existing equipment should be withdrawn by 2027, said the British Minister for Digital Policy, Culture, Media and Sports, Oliver Duden, speaking to House of Commons following a meeting of the National Security Council chaired by Boris Johnson.

"The best way for our network to be secure is for providers to stop using Huawei equipment to build the future UK 5G network", Underlined the minister, as reported by the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency.

Huawei called the London decision "disappointing", saying it was "political" and due to "American commercial policy".

"This disappointing decision is bad news for all those who have a mobile phone in the UK, there is a risk that it will slow down the country's digital progress, cause an increase in bills and widen the digital divide", A representative of the Chinese telecommunications company underlined, adding that"It is unfortunate that our future in the United Kingdom has been politicized because of American trade policy and not for security reasons."

London has been under intense pressure for months from the Trump administration, which accuses Huawei of spying for Beijing, which the Chinese group denies.

According to Oliver Duden, the US sanctions imposed on the Chinese group in May in order to prevent Huawei from gaining access to US-made semiconductors, were a burden on the British decision.

Despite US warnings, the British government had allowed Huawei to build up to 35% of the non-strategic infrastructure needed to develop the new network in January. 5G of the country.

However, in the face of resentment from Washington and Conservative lawmakers, the government had hinted that it would toughen its stance, highlighting the security risk that the Chinese company's presence could pose to its infrastructure.

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