In January 2020, the United Kingdom announced its decision to allow technology built by Chinese tech giant Huawei to continue to be used in its 5G networks. It has, however, banned the company’s tech from being used in “sensitive” parts of the network, such as servers, and has mandated that Huawei may comprise only 35% of a network in total.
The decision was met with dismay from the US, one of the UK’s strategic intelligence partners. The US has long expressed concern that allowing Huawei to build any part of the nation’s network would compromise national security by raising the risk of spying by the Chinese government. It has banned US companies from using Huawei tech and has urged its partners to follow suit. The UK has reassured its closest intelligence partners that the decision will not affect its ability to share sensitive information over secure networks. It has also agreed, in an apparent attempt to assuage concerns over Huawei, that it would continue to seek alternative telecoms suppliers for the future.
