U.K. May Phase Out Huawei Tech in 5G Within Months: Telegraph

(Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson is set to start phasing out the use of Huawei Technologies Co. equipment in Britain’s 5G network as soon as this year, according to the Telegraph newspaper.

A report by the country’s state intelligence agency due to be presented to the prime minister this week is expected to conclude that new U.S. sanctions on the Chinese company will force Huawei to use untrusted technology that could make security risks impossible to control, the Telegraph reported.

Officials are now drawing up proposals to stop installing new Huawei equipment in the 5G network in as little as six months, and to speed up the removal of technology that is already in place, according to the Telegraph. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden is expected to provide Johnson with formal advice as soon as this week.

Dowden on Tuesday told Parliament that Huawei won’t be part of the U.K.’s 5G telecoms networks in the long term, adding that he welcomes approaches from alternative vendors including South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. and Japan’s NEC Corp.

“Huawei is the most scrutinized vendor in the world and we firmly believe our unrivaled transparency in the U.K. means we can continue to be trusted to play a part in Britain’s gigabit upgrade,” a Huawei spokesman told the paper. “It’s important to focus on facts and not to speculate at this time.”

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