The debate over the security risks posed by the Chinese tech giant Huawei rumbles on. From the US to the UK, there are suspicions about the tech company and whether or not its tech should be included in the growing 5G networks.
A new leaked report by GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre said that US sanctions against Huawei would make its telecoms equipment less safe to use. The report claims the restrictions on Huawei’s operations “will force the company to use untrusted technology that could increase the risk to the UK.”
Does this mean the UK will drop Huawei as a supplier in its 5G network? And how did we get here in the first place?
Huawei and 5G: what’s the issue?
Last year, US President Trump accused Huawei of fraud, along with stealing trade secrets and violating US sanctions against Iran. As a result, the US banned the company’s equipment from US networks in a bid to protect national security. There have been concerns that Huawei would be ordered to put in backdoors to allow the Chinese government to spy on the US. Huawei has refuted these claims.
This is also the reason you can’t get Google's Android services on Huawei phones anymore: the US government blocked US companies from working with the tech giant.
What has the UK said?
Despite the US’s security concerns, earlier this year the UK prime minister Boris Johnson said Huawei could be involved in the UK’s 5G rollout. The UK marked the company as a ‘high risk vendor’, limiting it to a minority presence of no more than 35 per cent in the periphery network which connects devices and equipment to mobile masts.
This meant Huawei’s tech would not be included with safety-related and safety-critical networks in critical national infrastructure. As well, it would also be excluded from sensitive geographic locations including nuclear sites and military bases.
What’s the latest update?
Following a recent NCSC report, the UK government is reconsidering Huawei’s role in its 5G network. Leaks have suggested the UK will make a U-turn on the decision to include Huawei, with the prime minister set to ban Huawei from Britain’s infrastructure before the end of the year.
Health secretary Matt Hancock confirmed that the National Security Council would look at the conditions of Huawei’s inclusion, but refused to comment on the rumoured U-turn.
Huawei has responded by saying it is “open to discussions” with Downing Street. The company’s vice president Victor Zhang said in a statement: “We are working closely with our customers to find ways of managing the proposed US restrictions so the UK can maintain its current lead in 5G.
“As ever, we remain open to discussions with the government. We believe it is too early to determine the impact of the proposed restrictions, which are not about security, but about market position.
“All our world-leading products and solutions use technology and components over which the UK government has strict oversight.”
What impact could removing Huawei’s 5G equipment have on the UK?
The main issue with stripping out Huawei’s 5G tech resides with the effect it will have on the mobile operators. Many of them have pledged to remove Huawei’s equipment from their networks already, such as BT which has said it will have stripped it out of its core network by 2023.
However, if the companies were ordered to do it straight away it would be extremely expensive and delay the UK’s 5G rollout considerably. At the moment, more than 70 towns and cities have access to 5G tech but the coverage can be patchy depending on if you’re inside a building or outside, and the costs are fairly high to access for the tech for consumers and small businesses. Any disruption to this rollout could set the UK back.
According to research released by Vodafone last week, 5G could provide £150 billion boost to the UK economy over the next 10 years. The mobile network says high-quality digital infrastructure will enable people to continue to work remotely, a crucial factor given the impact of Covid-19, allow manufacturers to increase efficiency, as well as allowing secure and reliable remote access to public services from patients accessing healthcare to pupils accessing education.
Speaking about the report, Vodafone's UK CEO Nick Jeffrey said: “5G will play a vital role as the economy recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. It is crucial to recognise the role that fast and reliable connectivity will play in unlocking the digital potential that exists in every nation and region across the UK. 5G will provide new and exciting opportunities for businesses of all shapes and sizes and across all sectors.”
What happens next?
For now, we’ll have to wait and see what recommendations come from the National Security Council’s report. But it’ll be interesting to see the concerns this will cause in the industry, particularly when it comes to the UK’s 5G tech.
