UK Set For Huge U-Turn Over Huawei 5G Technology

With the continuing expansion of the UK’s 5G network, one of the biggest subjects of contention has been the use of technology produced by telecoms giant Huawei. Following a decision to proceed on a limited basis last May, however, it was recently revealed that the UK government was, again, looking into whether it thought it was a good idea or not.

Well, in a report via SkyNews, it seems that in something of a huge u-turn, the UK may be set to scrap Huawei from its 5G networks by the end of this year!

Huawei 5G – The Saga Continues!

At the time of writing, the UK’s current policy on Huawei technology with the 5G network is that it shouldn’t represent more than 30% (ish) of the overall figure and, in addition, it should not be used in any sensitive key aspects of the design. This is specifically because of fears that the Chinese company may have (yet unknown) security backdoors that could potentially allow the network to be hacked, spied upon, or shutdown at the will of Beijing.

Following a fresh assessment by the GCHQ, however, it is understood that their new recommendations are that Huawei should be scrapped from all new 5G installations within the next 6 months.

What Do We Think?

With internal sources citing that they believe the UK government will act on this new advice, while Huawei will continue to see their technology used in 5G networks, for the time being, this will likely be set to cease entirely by the end of this year!

So, I suppose the question is, is this a good idea? Well, yes and no. We would freely admit that while there are legitimate security concerns (particularly in the fluctuating relationship between China and the West) there hasn’t to date been any hard evidence to back up any of what could, at best, be called theories. In addition, it’s also hard to ignore that in terms of telecommunication companies, Huawei is one of the largest and, therefore, one of the most convenient to use in terms of production and costs.

If this is proven to be correct, however, then Huawei’s rocky relationship with the UK’s 5G network expansion may be set to finally conclude. Albeit, not in their favor and also probably not for anyone waiting for 5G to arrive in their neck of the woods. Put simply, if this happens, 5G roll-out delays are practically almost inevitable!

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!