London (AFP)

The British government is preparing to take a decision with far-reaching consequences for Huawei's participation in the 5G network, at the risk of offending the United States with which it plans to conclude an ambitious post-Brexit trade agreement.

For several days, the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson seems to be preparing the ground for a green light for Huawei's participation in the country's 5G network, but which should be limited.

Huawei could only be allowed to take part in non-strategic infrastructures like relay antennas but would be excluded from the servers, with also a possible limit to its market share.

While the decision is expected Tuesday according to the British press, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has just issued a final warning. On Twitter, dramatizing the issues, he described London's decision as "capital", after weeks of intense lobbying by Washington, between visits by dignitaries and meetings behind closed doors.

The American secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin had evoked Saturday "intensive discussions" on this subject with the British government, just after a breakfast of work with his British counterpart Sajid Javid.

Friday, US President Donald Trump and the British Prime Minister spoke on the phone about the Chinese manufacturer and the security of the telecommunications network.

This divergence of views is ill-advised, while the United Kingdom, which will leave the European Union on Friday, must redefine its trade relations with its partners, starting with Washington.

The United States has been demanding for many months from European countries, and in particular from the United Kingdom, that they exclude Huawei from their networks, citing its close links with the Chinese government and the fact that its equipment could be used for purposes spy, which the Chinese group has always denied.

Pompeo went as far as relaying on Twitter a column from Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, who was firmly opposed to Huawei's participation in the 5G network for security reasons, published in the tabloid Daily Mail.

- Limited risk -

"The real consequences will emerge later if we make the wrong decision and allow Huawei to lead 5G" in the UK, warns Tugendhat on Twitter, who insists: "Sovereignty means controlling data as much as data territory".

Justice Minister Robert Buckland acknowledged on BBC radio Monday that there are "risks", while assuring that the government will make "an informed, evidence-based decision".

In mid-January, Boris Johnson had suggested that it would be difficult to ban Huawei from the network: "if people oppose one brand or another, they must tell us what the alternative is," he said on the BBC.

A British government source recalled that the United Kingdom has been using Huawei technology for 15 years unlike the United States and that it is therefore already part of the current British 4G network.

The 5G network will be built from 4G, and an exclusion from Huawei would therefore require defeating part of the 4G infrastructure to replace it with materials from current competitors, Ericsson and Nokia, which would be expensive and delay the transition to new generation of telephony.

In addition, security agencies have managed to manage the risk, argue experts and leaders of national intelligence services.

"I think we can manage this risk," especially if the network has "duplicates" from other manufacturers, said James Sullivan, a computer security analyst at the Rusi think-tank, in a conference call Monday.

"The United States is unlikely to want to cut off access to the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network" with the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, he said. esteemed with another Rusi expert, Malcolm Chalmers, at this conference.

Mike Pompeo is scheduled to meet with counterpart Dominic Raad after arriving in London on Wednesday.

"I hope this will be an opportunity for the two governments to move forward", to admit some disagreements on "details but to accept that the most important thing is to build a credible Western alternative" to the offer from Huawei, concludes James Sullivan.

© 2020 AFP