Huawei warns that any disruption in its 5G participation in UK could do a 'disservice' to the country

A number of MPs have indicated the decision to deploy Hauwei could be overturned

Huawei has urged the UK to avoid reversing its position on allowing the company to build part of its ultrafast 5G network as that could do a "disservice" to Britain.

In an open letter published on Monday, Huawei's UK chief Victor Zhang highlighted the significant of internet connectivity amid on-going coronavirus crisis and dismissed the criticism of Huawei's participation in UK's 5G plans.

Zhang said that Huawei was working hard to keep the UK connected during the coronavirus crisis.

"We have built trust in our UK business over 20 years by helping our customers - the mobile network operators - provide consumers with affordable, reliable calls and data," Zhang said.

"Despite this, there has been groundless criticism from some about Huawei's involvement in the UK's 5G rollout. And there are those who choose to continue to attack us without presenting any evidence. Disrupting our involvement in the 5G rollout would do Britain a disservice."

Zhang pointed out that the home data usage in Britain has gone up by nearly 50 per cent since the start of the outbreak, which is putting immense pressure on telecoms networks.

"That's why reliable mobile and broadband networks are crucial," Zhang argued.

In January, Huawei was awarded a limited role by the British government in building 5G infrastructure in the country, although it was excluded from supplying sensitive 'core' parts of 5G and gigabit-capable networks.

The government also imposed a 35 per cent cap on "high-risk vendors" that are allowed to supply parts to the non-sensitive areas of 5G and high-speed fibre-based networks.

The decision was opposed by many British MPs at that time, and a group of Conservative Party MPs indicated last month that the decision on Huawei could be overturned.

On 4th April, a group of 15 Conservative MPs wrote a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, urging him to "rethink on relations" and decrease the reliance on Chinese firm with a long-term strategic view.

"Over time, we have allowed ourselves to grow dependent on China and have failed to take a strategic view of Britain's long-term economic, technical and security needs," the group wrote.

Among the signatories were David Davis, Iain Duncan Smith and Bob Seely.

Many lawmakers in the UK believe that Huawei is just a face for the Chinese government and allowing it to participate in building 5G networks could pose a threat to Britain's national security in future.

The US government has also repeatedly said that Huawei is a "real risk" to cyber security and that the equipment supplied by the firm could be used by China's government to spy on other countries.

That's why Trump administration blacklisted the company in May 2019 and also restricted its ability to purchase American-made components and technology.

Huawei, however, rejects all such allegations, saying that it has never been asked by the Chinese government to spy on other countries or introduce backdoors into its technology.

The company also said last year that it was willing to accept any system of supervision by European governments, customers and partners over 5G hardware.