July 2020. The UK Government has today confirmed a dramatic U-turn, which means that new core and non-core 5G kit from Chinese tech giant Huawei will be banned from use in mobile networks from 31st December 2020. But existing kit will get until 2027 for removal and a decision on FTTP broadband ISPs will come later. The move represents a significant shift from the UK’s adopted position in January 2020, which only banned operators from installing Huawei’s kit in the sensitive core part of their networks, but allowed its continued use in non-core parts (e.g. 5G antennas, FTTC cabinets, FTTP ONTs in homes etc.). A cap of 35% was also placed on the company’s kit to ensure that operators made use of other suppliers (BT alone forecast a £500m hit from this). Part of the reason for January’s decision was because completely banning Huawei could have made the roll-out of new 5G mobile, and also some fixed broadband ISP networks, both much slower and more expensive to achieve. Such a ban would have thus impacted PM Boris Johnson’s recent £5bn pledge to ensure that every UK home can access gigabit (1Gbps) speed broadband networks by the end of 2025.
Jul 2020. The Huawei 5G Ban
