China News Agency, London, July 14 (Gao Tianyin and Zhang Ping) The British government announced on the 14th that it will stop using Huawei equipment in 5G construction, which has aroused widespread concern in the British society.
British Minister of Digitalization, Culture, Media and Sports Oliver Dowden (Oliver Dowden) announced the British government's decision in the lower house of parliament that day. The decision requires that British mobile operators ban the purchase of Huawei 5G equipment after December 31 and remove all Huawei 5G equipment from the network by 2027.
At present, Huawei has deployed a total of 20,000 base stations in the UK, and O2, Vodafone, EE and Three of the four major telecommunications operators in the UK all use Huawei 5G equipment. British mobile operators BT and Vodafone warned that if all Huawei's 5G equipment is removed in a shorter period of time, customers will face the risk of cell phone signal interruption.
Oliver Dawden said frankly, "This decision will delay the introduction of 5G in the UK for 2 to 3 years and increase construction costs by 2 billion pounds." British research firm "Assembly Research" assessed that the 5G industry will create up to With an economic value of £18 billion, the price of disabling Huawei’s 5G equipment will be a delay of 18 to 24 months for the construction of 5G in the UK and a loss of £4.5 billion to £6.8 billion. The UK will lose its global leading position in the development of 5G.
British media reported that in January this year, the British government ignored the pressure from the United States and allowed Huawei to "limitedly" participate in 5G construction, becoming the only country in the "Five Eyes Alliance" that allowed Huawei to participate in the construction of 5G networks. However, just half a year later, the British government's attitude towards Huawei changed.
British analysts say that the United Kingdom is not because of the so-called "security risks", but because of consideration of US trade policies. The possibility of "Brexit" with no agreement in the UK is increasing, and the economic dependence on the US is increasing. The United States is currently stepping up its pressure on the China policy within the "Five Eyes Alliance," and the United Kingdom has to adjust its restrictions on Huawei under pressure.
The BBC analysis believes that the British government’s move is related to the increasing anti-China sentiment in the British political community since the epidemic. In addition to the introduction of the Hong Kong National Security Law, more Conservative MPs began to pressure Prime Minister Boris Johnson, asking the UK to “get rid of Dependence on China".
Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom Liu Xiaoming said that changing the order and banning Huawei will not only damage the image of Britain's openness, business suitability, freedom and transparency, but also the image of Britain's independent state.
It is understood that Huawei has a total of 1,600 employees in the UK, and has dedicated research centers in Edinburgh, Bristol, Cambridge and Ipswich, as well as research institutes such as Imperial College, University of Southampton, University of Surrey, etc. Provide funding.
Edward Brewster, a spokesman for Huawei in the UK, said that this may cause the UK to fall into the slow lane of digital development, increase the burden of consumer spending, and deepen the digital divide. "This decision of the British government is disappointing and is bad news for all mobile phone users in the UK." (End)