Factbox: UK to ban Huawei from 5G network: timescale, cost and laws

Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings

14/07/2020 13:22

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson on
Tuesday ordered Huawei equipment to be removed from Britain's 5G
network by 2027, risking the ire of China by signalling that the
world's biggest telecoms equipment maker is no longer welcome in
the West.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2EL15K
    The move was announced in parliament by culture minister
Oliver Dowden, who said that the imposition of new sanctions by
the United States significantly changed the assessment of
Britain's National Cyber Security Centre, who could not
guarantee the security of future Huawei 5G equipment.
    Below are details of what was announced:
    
    WHAT THE UK HAS ANNOUNCED
    - The purchase of new Huawei 5G equipment will be banned
after December 31 2020.
    - All Huawei equipment must be removed from 5G networks by
end of 2027.
    - Requirement will be set out in law in telecom security
bill.
    - Dowden said that, by the time of the next election in
2024, Britain would be on an "irreversible path" for complete
removal of Huawei equipment.
    
    HOW WILL IT AFFECT BRITAIN'S 5G
    - Dowden said that the Tuesday's decision would result in a
cumulative delay to 5g rollout of two to three years and cost of
up to 2 billion pounds.
    - He said that moving to a faster timescale than the 2027
target would add considerable and unnecessary costs and delays.
    - The shorter the timetable, he said, the greater the risk
of disruption to telecom networks.
    
    OTHER NETWORKS
    - Telecoms companies will also be told to stop using Huawei
in fixed-line fibre broadband within the next two years.
    - Will embark on short technical consultation with operators
on the supply chain for full fibre equipment, which Dowden said
would aim to avoid "unnecessary delays to our gigabit
ambitions."
    - Existing Huawei equipment in 2G, 3G and 4G networks, which
has been security cleared, will not have to be removed. 
    
    TELECOM SECURITY BILL
    - Tuesday's announcement substantially changes what is in
the bill, Dowden said, adding it would be introduced in the
autumn to give the security advice "secure statutory footing".
    
    HUAWEI REACTION
    - A spokesman described the decision as bad news for anyone
in the UK with a mobile phone, saying it would move Britain into
the digital slow lane.
    - The spokesman said Huawei was confident that the U.S.
restrictions would not have affected the resilience or security
of the products it supplied to Britain.
    
    
    

 (Compiled by Alistair Smout)
 ((alistair.smout@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 7064; Reuters
Messaging: alistair.smout.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))