Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
World
Home / World / China-Europe

Huawei ban puts UK in the slow lane

By Angus McNeice in London | China Daily Global | Updated: 2020-07-15 03:26
Share
Share - WeChat
[Photo/VCG]

UK govt decision to cut Chinese firm out of networks seen as shortsighted

One member of the United Kingdom Parliament called it a "car crash for the digital economy". Huawei said it was "bad news for anyone in the United Kingdom with a mobile phone".

Descriptions vary, but few deny that the UK government's decision to ban Chinese telecommunications company Huawei as a 5G supplier will have a monumental impact on the future of technology in Britain.

On Tuesday, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said that British mobile operators will no longer be allowed to source kit from Huawei, as imminent United States sanctions threaten to disrupt the company's supply chain. Dowden also said that existing Huawei 5G hardware would be removed from network infrastructure.

Dowden then announced a surprisingly unforgiving timeline for these measures. Among the world's largest technology companies, Huawei provides UK vendors with around one-third of their network equipment, and mobile operator BT has said it would need a five-year warning of a Huawei boycott in order to source enough kit from elsewhere. Dowden said the ban comes into effect at the end of 2020, with existing Huawei 5G kit to be removed by 2027.

Dowden conceded that the move would come at great cost to the UK economy and would significantly hold up 5G development. He estimated that the ban will delay the rollout of 5G in Britain by two to three years at a cost of 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion).

Some in Parliament questioned if this figure was optimistic, referring to separate estimates from industry analysts of losses of up to 7 billion pounds.

Shadow digital minister Chi Onwurah said that the government's handling of Huawei had created a "car crash for the digital economy, but one that would have been visible from outer space".

The UK has also effectively hamstrung itself in the race to achieve widespread 5G, and all the supplementary benefits that technological milestone will bring, according to Ed Brewster, a spokesman for Huawei UK.

"This disappointing decision is bad news for anyone in the UK with a mobile phone," Brewster said. "It threatens to move Britain into the digital slow lane, push up bills and deepen the digital divide."

On Monday, Huawei UK Chairman John Browne announced he would step down from the role, likely in anticipation of the government's ruling.

Leaving its impact aside, many observers are left questioning the motivation behind this act of national self-harm. The move comes as US sanctions on Huawei set for activation in September will effectively cut off Huawei's access to semiconductors made with US equipment.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a meeting with his National Security Council on Tuesday morning, where he was advised that the sanctions, announced in May, would impact the reliability of Huawei as a 5G provider.

"The UK can no longer be confident it will be able to guarantee the security of future Huawei 5G equipment," Dowden told Parliament.

Johnson's decision represents an about-face on previous policy made in January, when he ignored drawn-out lobbying from Washington for a Huawei boycott, instead opting to allow the company to continue operations in the UK in a restricted capacity.

Onwurah said that the government's approach to Huawei has been "incomprehensibly negligent". She asked for the Johnson administration to publish the security advice on which the most recent decision was taken, including what new information the government was given that was not available when the earlier determination was made to allow Huawei to continue its UK operations.

"The secretary of state (Dowden) has said that this change is in response to US sanctions, but in the past, he has emphasized how closely he was working with the United States," Onwurah said. "So were the sanctions a surprise, and is our security policy being led by the US?"

Huawei UK spokesman Brewster said he regrets that the company's future in the UK "has become politicized".

"This is about US trade policy and not security," Brewster said. "Instead of levelling up the government is leveling down and we urge them to reconsider. We remain confident that the new US restrictions would not have affected the resilience or security of the products we supply to the UK."

Following the announcement of the ban, Assembly Research founder Matthew Howett, who oversaw an influential 2019 review of the potential impact of a Huawei boycott, wrote on Twitter: "I hope we at least get that US trade deal".

In Parliament on Tuesday, Dowden spoke on the Huawei ban "in the context of the United Kingdom's wider relationship with China".

"This government is clear eyed about China," he said. "What we want is a modern and mature relationship with China, based on mutual respect where we are able to speak frankly when we disagree, but also to work side by side with China on the issues where our interests converge."

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 最近国语视频在线观看免费播放| 在线免费观看污污视频| 成人看片黄a在线观看| 最近2019年中文字幕国语大全| 精品国产福利在线观看| 荡乱妇3p疯狂伦交下载阅读| 91香蕉视频污| 成人爽爽激情在线观看| 色噜噜噜噜亚洲第一| 色一情一区二区三区四区| 真实国产乱子伦对白视频37p| 综合图区亚洲欧美另类图片| 翁熄系列回乡下| 2020天堂中文字幕一区在线观| 91成人高清在线播放| 麻豆网神马久久人鬼片| 精品久久久久香蕉网| 欧美一级片观看| 日韩精品中文字幕无码专区 | 免费高清日本1在线观看| 亚洲无码一区二区三区| 亚洲六月丁香婷婷综合| 亚洲一区二区三区久久久久| 亚洲人av高清无码| 与子乱勾搭对白在线观看| а天堂中文最新版在线| a级黄色一级片| 麻豆精品传媒成人精品| 琪琪女色窝窝777777| 欧美激情第1页| 欧洲亚洲国产精华液| 欧美国产亚洲一区| 成人做受视频试看60秒| 天下第一社区视频welcome| 国产肥老上视频| 国产欧美高清在线观看| 免费在线观看的黄色网址| 久久精品老司机| 亚洲国产日韩女人aaaaaa毛片在线| 亚洲av永久无码精品秋霞电影影院 | 北条麻妃一本到高清在线观看|