UK decision on Huawei's participation in 5G networks due today
Prime Minister Boris Johnson under pressure from both sides over inclusion of Huawei in the UK's 5G networks
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will decide today whether Huawei should be allowed a role in the UK's 5G network roll-outs and, if so, the extent of that role.
Johnson is widely expected to give his approval, but only for a limited contribution on the edge of the UK's 5G networks. Any decision risks damaging relations with either the US, China - or both.
This week, the government has been subject to lobbying from both sides. Huawei has claimed that US pressure to exclude its hardware from 5G and fixed-line networks is politically motivated. US officials, meanwhile, claim that Huawei's close links to China's government means that its hardware at the heart of telecoms networks cannot be trusted.
Huawei's 5G sets us on a path that undermines our autonomy and the repercussions could be grave
Tom Tugendhat, Conservative MP for Tonbridge and Malling, currently chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, claimed that "giving control to Beijing [of the UK's 5G networks] is too big a risk".
Writing in the Daily Mail, he claimed: "We are on the front line of a new type of conflict: cyber warfare. This is not measured in the might of armies. Instead, our data can be stolen or corrupted from anywhere in the world, with potentially deadly consequences…
"The truth is that only nations able to protect their data will be sovereign. Huawei's 5G sets us on a path that undermines our autonomy and the repercussions could be grave."
And 5G is different from 4G as the network topologies have a less clear-cut divide between core and non-core: "In 4G, there's a distinction between core and non-core equipment, dividing the heart of the system from the antennas, but that difference is less clear in a 5G network that handles more data at higher speeds."
Every tech company that operates in China is entitled to certain subsidies from the government
Tugendhat was supported by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who yesterday sounded a clear warning to Johnson that the UK's relationship with the US would be damaged by a decision in favour of Huawei.
The main alternatives to Huawei are Ericsson and Nokia. While technically just as good, their products are significantly more expensive. Critics claim that Huawei is able to offer much lower prices due to hidden subsidies from China's government, which have favoured Huawei.
Huawei claims that it is a private company "entirely owned by its employees" via its trade unions (although unions in China are ultimately controlled by the government), and in a statement accused the WSJ of basing its story on "false information and poor reasoning".
Its statement continued: "Every tech company that operates in China is entitled to certain subsidies from the government, as long as they meet certain conditions. This includes tech companies that come from overseas."