The decision to ban the procurement of new Huawei 5G equipment and remove Huawei from the UK's 5G network altogether will put the UK's 5G build-out on track to be delayed by two to three years, UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said yesterday while announcing the decision to phase out Huawei.
He added that the UK would pay an economic cost of as much as £2 billion for it.
Starting December 31, mobile network operators in the UK would be forced to stop buying equipment from Huawei. They will also be required to strip out Huawei gear from their infrastructure by 2027.
It’s a major reversal for the country, which in January gave Huawei restricted access to the country’s next-generation mobile networks.
The original decision by the UK restricted Huawei's market share to 35% but allowed it to remain a part of the non-core elements of the network.
But that decision was complicated by new sanctions imposed on Huawei by the U.S. in May. These restrictions mean the Chinese firm will no longer be able to source key chip equipment from trusted American suppliers.
Regarding the decision, Ed Brewster, a spokesperson for Huawei UK, said this decision is bad news for anyone in the UK with a mobile phone. It threatens to move Britain into the digital slow lane, push up bills and deepen the digital divide.
