
LONDON, U.K. — After saying in January it would allow some Huawei telecom equipment to be used in the non-core parts of the U.K.’s 5G networks, the U.K. government has announced purchases of the Chinese company’s 5G gear will be banned after December 31, says this BBC report today.
In addition, all Huawei equipment must be removed from U.K. operators’ 5G networks by 2027.
According to the BBC report, the U.K.’s Digital Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said the decision would delay the country’s 5G rollout by a year.
Meanwhile, Canadian network operators continue to wait for our federal government’s decision on whether or not Huawei equipment will be permitted in the construction of 5G networks here. The federal government has said a decision would be made “in due course” for more than a year now, since the U.S. government banned the company’s technology there.
Canada is the last remaining member of the so-called “five eyes” intelligence alliance (which includes the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand) to place no restrictions on the use of Huawei technology in our 5G networks.
That being said, both Telus and Bell (which used Huawei gear in its 4G networks) have launched their initial 5G networks using other companies’ kit.