BoJo buckles: UK govt to cut Huawei 5G kit use 'to zero by 2023' after pressure from Tory MPs, Uncle Sam
- Reference: 1590193422
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/23/bojo_buckles_huawei_out/
- Source link:
The word from Britain late on Friday, via the [1]Guardian and [2]Telegraph , is that Johnson has caved after months of pressure from the backbench of his right-wing Conservative party, and from the US government. We're told he will now push for the reduction of Huawei's involvement in Britain's 5G networks to zero by 2023.
Spokespeople for Huawei were not immediately able to comment on the late-breaking news.
Previously BoJo was comfortable with the UK's fledgling 5G networks using Huawei kit, albeit with a reduced role. Back in January, the Prime Minister [3]proposed that Huawei would be capped at a 35 per cent market share of core network hardware.
If American tech is used to design or make that chip, you better not ship it to Huawei, warns Uncle Sam [4]READ MORE
That approach was seen as decidedly too easy on Huawei, and potentially risky: the plan was in danger of being voted down in Parliament by his own MPs who wanted Britain to take a harder line, and America was [5]threatening to cut off intelligence to the British and [6]pull out military assets if Huawei wasn't given the boot. The US has cracked down on the deployment of Huawei equipment in its networks, and curbed the Chinese giant's [7]use of American technology.
Huawei has long faced claims that its close relationship with the Middle Kingdom's authoritarian rulers will result in the manufacturer being ordered to act as a branch of Beijing's espionage operations, equipping its telecoms hardware with back doors for remote surveillance.
That fear has led many Western countries to express doubts that Huawei can be trusted with providing some of the core components for emerging 5G cellular rollouts. There's also the little headache that Huawei's gear is cheaper than Western offerings, and its potential to dominate the world of next-gen mobile broadband has forced rivals to [8]band together to take down the Chinese super-corp.
Huawei, meanwhile, has denied any involvement in government affairs, and has long fought against the notion that it isn't able to function as an independent company or that it can't be trusted with vital public and private communications. ®
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/may/22/boris-johnson-forced-to-reduce-huaweis-role-in-uks-5g-networks
[2] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/05/22/boris-johnson-reduce-huaweis-role-britains-5g-network-wake-coronavirus/
[3] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/01/28/uk_says_yes_to_limited_huawei_non_core/
[4] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/16/huawei_chip_ban_latest/
[5] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/04/12/us_huawei_security_threats/
[6] https://nypost.com/2020/05/06/us-reportedly-reviewing-military-assets-in-uk-after-huawei-5g-deal/
[7] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/14/trump_extends_huawei_ban_for/
[8] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/07/us_5g_open_ran_coalition/
Re: So...
If the first batch of 5G Nokia and Ericsson kit get vandalised due to COVID-believing nutters/vigilantes, then maybe round two of replacement kit will come from Huawei.
Re: So...
What do Nokia and Ericsson have to do with spreading the China Virus?
Is it wrong to be in favour of this?
Seriously, with all the concerns about privacy; all our data going back to the Chinese government, is this move really a bad thing?
Re: Is it wrong to be in favour of this?
It most certainly is on the site that's become the tech equivalent of the Guardian, politically-speaking!
I hope we invest and create our own infrastructure. I wonder if America will be laughing as much.
I wonder if America will be laughing as much
Don't be silly. The Yanks are too busy counting the cash to laugh.
Its OK...
...to carry on using Apple though, that are also made in Chinese factories. And lots of other China made kit. That radio you have in your office PM, is it made in China?
Surely if they are all this paranoid its not far fetched to believe the Chinese government could stick bugs in any electronic kit made in factories in their country.
What a plonker. Couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery springs immediately to mind.
Nice one, BoJo. Admiral Charles Fitzgerald, founder of the Order of the White Feather, will see you now.
It does have one wondering about the mountainous piles of dirt with evidence of injudicious feather nesting which an Uncle Sam and an Almighty Blighty Secret Intelligence Service have/might have amassed on all Parliamentarians and the Conservative Cabinet Party over the years. Or is one to be led to believe that they are exempt from such necessary oversight, which very clearly would not be an intelligent thing to be doing whenever expected to be supplying secure protection against hostile state and non state actor vectors. Such would easily provide all manner of moles quite treasonous cover.
That was a nice capture of Boris by Jennifer Arcuri though. Keeping things simple always works best for there be always less complications then in matters which can be extremely complex and potentially catastrophically damaging.
So...
Who's going to pay for this
Oh yes. Us plebs