UK ban on Huawei opens door for competitors, although consumers may pick up tab

UNITED KINGDOM : Britain’s decision to ban China’s Huawei Technologies from next-generation 5G telecom networks is the latest blow to the global leader in telecom equipment and could help lay the groundwork for broader changes in the industry.

Ericsson of Sweden and Nokia of Finland are currently the only companies besides Huawei that provide complete 5G wireless networks, and they, along with Korea’s Samsung, are the most immediate beneficiaries of the US-led campaign against Huawei.

But the US government and many others are now touting a new, more open approach to wireless network architecture, called Open RAN. The idea is to make equipment from different vendors work with each other, allowing mobile operators to mix and match equipment from various suppliers and potentially improving flexibility and reducing costs.