After ban on China’s Huawei, UK to diversify 5G suppliers

The UK government on Monday confirmed the complete removal of Chinese telecom giant Huawei from Britain’s existing networks by 2027 and announced a strategy to diversify 5G suppliers so that the country doesn’t rely too much on a select few providers.

The government had decided earlier this year to exclude high-risk vendors from those parts of the 5G and full-fibre networks that are critical to security and also from sensitive locations, and limit their presence in the periphery of those networks, capped at 35%.

In July, in response to further US sanctions against Huawei, the UK government went further by setting a timetable to remove Huawei from 5G networks by the end of 2027. ZTE, another Chinese company, is also considered by London to be “high risk”.