UK removes Huawei from involvement in 5G network in July 2020.
Context
On July 14, 2020, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced during a meeting of the UK’s National Security Council that Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei would be removed from involvement in the country’s 5G network. According to the accompanying government press release, the purchase of new 5G equipment from Huawei is “banned after 31 December 2020”, while all other existing equipment from Huawei is “to be removed from (the UK’s 5G networks) by end of 2027”.
The British government linked its own policy to the US’ decision to impose its own measures preventing Huawei from use of US semiconductors. In its statement, the British Government concluded that Huawei “will need to do a major reconfiguration of its supply chain as it will no longer have access to the technology on which it currently relies and there are no alternatives which we (the UK) have sufficient confidence in.”
Impact
In July 2020 ABC News stated that the mechanism is “expected to cost the UK up to AU$3.6 billion”. The head of UK carrier BT was cited in media reports as saying that this mechanism has cost BT around US$612 million. There have also been some suggestions that this decision may have contributed to the subsequent poor performance of the UK’s 5G Network.
At the same time, reports have suggested that this mechanism represented a “huge blow” to the Chinese telecommunications firm, with Europe accounting for 24% of the company’s sales in 2019.
Responses
(i) Chinese Government and Industry Responses
Responding to the new mechanism in mid-July 2020, China’s ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, described the decision as a “purge” of Huawei, and said that the UK had – like the US – decided to treat China as “a rival, a threat, a hostile country”. Meanwhile, a statement from Huawei UK reportedly called the new mechanism a “disappointing decision” that “threatens to move Britain into the digital slow lane, push up bills and deepen the digital divide” while calling on the UK to “reconsider”.
Prior to the ban announcement, Huawei took several actions seen as intended to prevent this measure, including a UK-wide advertising campaign communicating its record on jobs and investment in the UK, and the announcement of a new US$1.25 billion UK-based research facility.
(ii) UK Government and Industry Responses
Announcing the mechanism, the UK’s Digital Secretary, Oliver Dowden, made clear that “[b]y the time of the next election (in 2024) we will have implemented in law an irreversible path for the complete removal of Huawei equipment from our 5G networks” and said that “[t]his decisive move provides the industry with the clarity and certainty it needs to get on with delivering 5G across the UK.” Dowden was cited as saying that the decision would likely delay 5G rollout across the UK by a minimum of 12 months.
Some British politicians responded to news of the mechanism by pushing for Chinese industry to also be removed from the UK’s nuclear power industry. Senior Conservative Party lawmaker Bernard Jenkin told press that “[w]e should not allow China to take control of other critical national infrastructure like nuclear power”.
Within UK industry, the chief network officer for local carrier Vodafone, Andrea Donà, reportedly told a conference that the measure had led to an “additional burden to an already constrained capital prioritization process” while noting that “[w]e don’t get any additional (government) money when these things happen” and that “[t]he net effect of the Huawei high-risk vendor swap legislation means we’ve had to scale back 5G.”
(iii) Other States’ Government and Industry Responses
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated the US’ support for this measure, but also hinted that Washington would have preferred a shorter deadline than 2027 for the complete removal of Huawei products, saying that “faster is always better to get this equipment out of their system”. Pompeo also suggested that the UK’s decision was made independently of US pressure, stating “[t]heir (British) security teams came to the same conclusion that ours that you can’t protect this information”. US President Donald Trump personally took credit for the UK’s change in stance, saying that “[i]f they (other countries) want to do business with us (the US), they can’t use it (Huawei). We convinced many countries – many countries – and I did this myself, for the most part, not to use Huawei because we think it’s an unsafe security risk. It’s a big security risk.”
Finnish firm Nokia and Swedish firm Ericsson were reported to be likely beneficiaries of this decision, with Nokia telling press that it possessed the requisite “capacity and expertise to replace all of the Huawei equipment in the UK’s networks at scale and speed.”
Status
According to media reporting, the British government suggested to Huawei in private communications that geopolitics was partly responsible for the decision, and hinted that if US President Donald Trump did not win a second term in 2020 then the decision might be revisited. Subsequently, the UK did extend a deadline to the end of 2023 for the removal of some Huawei parts from the UK’s 5G core, but the 2027 deadline for complete removal is still in tact.
Key Takeaways
In comparison to other similar cases, this case highlights poor governance in the UK system that includes policy reversals, lack of supports for British industry, and even possible finger pointing to the US for the decision in private communications.
References and Further Information
BBC News. 2022. “Two Huawei 5G kit-removal deadlines put back.” October 14. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63242336
GOV.UK. 2020. “Huawei to be removed from UK 5G networks by 2027.” Press Release. July 14. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/huawei-to-be-removed-from-uk-5g-networks-by-2027
Gold, H. 2020a. “UK bans Huawei from its 5G network in rapid about-face.” CNN Business. July 14. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/14/tech/huawei-uk-ban/index.html
Gold, H. 2020b. “Huawei to build $1.2 billion Cambridge facility as it faces uncertain UK future.” CNN Business. June 25. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/25/ tech/huawei-cambridge-uk/index.html
Hawke, J. 2020. “Britain bans Huawei from its 5G network and will remove existing equipment by 2027.” ABC News. July 14. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/ 2020-07-14/uk-set-to-exclude-huawei-from-telecommunications-networks/12455930
Helm, T. 2020. “Pressure from Trump led to 5G ban, Britain tells Huawei”. The Guardian. July 19. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jul/18/pressure-from-trump-led-to-5g-ban-britain-tells-huawei
Sandle, P. and Faulconbridge, G. 2020. “UK to purge Huawei from 5G by end of 2027, siding with Trump over China.” Reuters. July 15. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/ article/technology/uk-to-purge-huawei-from-5g-by-end-of-2027-siding-with-trump-over-china-idUSKCN24E30P/
Stevens, C. 2024. “Since Huawei was banned, is the UK’s 5G service the worst in Europe?”. Eureporter. February 15. Available at: https://www.eureporter.co/business/ digital-technology/2024/02/15/since-huawei-was-banned-is-the-uks-5g-service-the-worst-in-europe/
Tomas, J.P. 2023. “BT says Huawei ban cost firm $612 million: Report.” RCR Wireless. September 25. Available at: https://www.rcrwireless.com/20230925/5g/uk-telco-bt-says-huawei-ban-cost-firm-612-million-report#:~:text=The%20ban%20had%20been%20implemented,by%20the%20end%20of%202027.
Warrell, H., Parker, G., Sevastopulo, D., & Yang, Y. 2020. “China lashes out at Boris Johnson over Huawei ban.” Financial Times. July 16. Available at:
Wintour, P. & Kuo, L. 2020. “UK ban on Huawei in 5G network groundless, says Chinese ambassador.” The Guardian. July 15. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/ technology/2020/jul/15/uk-ban-on-huawei-in-5g-network-groundless-says-chinese-ambassador
Xinhuanet. 2020. “Huawei says UK ban threatens to move UK into digital slow lane.” July 14. Available at: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-07/14/c_139212268.htm
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