The boss has evidently overruled warnings of several ministers. On Tuesday evening, the UK National Security Council gave the go-ahead for using Huawei technology in Britain's new 5G mobile networks, the Daily Telegraph reports. Chair of this body is Prime Minister Theresa May.
There is no official statement on the subject. A government spokesman said Wednesday that Security Council decisions are kept confidential. Referring to the Telegraph report, he continued: "The safety and resilience of UK telecommunications networks is paramount." In addition, the government has examined the 5G supply chain of the Chinese company.
According to "Telegraph" Huawei is also only involved in the construction of certain parts of the 5G network. These can be, for example, network distributors and 5G antennas on houses and masts. The core structure of the new mobile network, such as the data centers, in which customer data and connections are managed, should remain closed to Chinese technology.
However, the planned separation of essential systems from non-essential systems would be difficult to accomplish in a 5G network, warns Britain's Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Tugendhat. 5G is not just a system that allows faster Internet access, but one that "really can connect everything to the network." On BBC Radio he said: "The definition of what belongs to the core of the network and what is not, is therefore very difficult at 5G".
Huawei is also to be involved in Germany
The US accuses Huawei of being so close to the Chinese state and warning its allies that Huawei's technology could be used by China for espionage, for example. Evidence that could substantiate these allegations has not yet been presented. Instead, the US and others argue that Chinese laws would oblige local companies to assist the government in espionage if desired.
Australia and New Zealand have already shut out Huawei completely as technology suppliers for their 5G networks. In Germany, US Ambassador Richard Grenell had threatened to restrict or even terminate cooperation with the German secret service if Germany took over the Chinese group Huawei in the expansion of the 5G networks.
Chancellor Merkel explained: "For the Federal Government, security is a high value, especially in the expansion of the 5G network, which is why we define our standards for ourselves." Previously, she had already expressed conditions for Huawei's involvement. It must be made clear that "when working in Germany, the Chinese state can not access all the data of all Chinese products".