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The
seven-year lag will please telecoms operators such as BT <BT.L>,
Vodafone <VOD.L> and Three <0215.HK> which feared they would be
forced to spend billions of pounds to rip out Huawei equipment
much faster. But it will delay the roll out of 5G.
The United States has pushed Johnson to reverse his January
decision to grant Huawei a limited role in 5G, while London has
been dismayed by a crackdown in Hong Kong and the perception
China did not tell the whole truth over the coronavirus.
Britain's National Security Council (NSC), chaired by Johnson,
decided on Tuesday to ban the purchase 5G components from the
end of this year and to order the removal of all existing Huawei
gear from the 5G network by 2027.
The cyber arm of Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping agency, the
National Cyber Security Centre, told ministers it could no
longer guarantee the stable supply of Huawei gear after the
United States imposed new sanctions on chip technology.
Telecoms companies will also be told to stop using Huawei in
fixed-line fibre broadband within the next two years. Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Oliver Dowden announced the
decision in parliament.
(Writing by Paul Sandle and Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by
William Maclean and Peter Graff)
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