Telcos in the United Kingdom now have until December 2023 to remove Huawei equipment from their 5G mobile connectivity, CNBC reported.
The said equipment - the kind utilized at phone mast sites and telephone exchanges - must be removed from the telcos' network cores, where some of the most sensitive data is transmitted.
They were under an initial order from the government to comply by January of this year.
In the meantime, the deadline for companies to cut the amount of Huawei equipment used in their non-core networks to 35% has been pushed out to Oct. 31 next year. That is later than the first deadline that was imposed in July.
Banning New Huawei 5G Installments
They will still need to prohibit any new Huawei 5G installations and remove the company's products entirely from their networks by the end of the year 2027. The Telecoms Security Act was legislation passed last year that made the order a permanent part of the law.
The government of Prime Minister Liz Truss has officially implemented the change by sending legal letters to all 35 telecom network operators in the U.K.
The Issue Involving Personal Data
Initially, Britain stated that it would be open to allowing Huawei to participate in the rollout of its 5G networks. But in 2020, the government made the decision to prohibit Huawei due to concerns about the safety of its citizens' personal data.
It was determined that the Shenzhen-based company was a high-risk supplier, so there was a chance that it may compromise national security.
Officials on both sides of the Atlantic are concerned that China may be able to spy on important communications and other data due to the technology developed by Huawei.
The China tech firm has rejected the allegations for a long time and characterized the efforts to obstruct it as "politically motivated."
Shortly after the U.S. slapped sanctions on China's tech industry, cutting it off from vital semiconductor supply, the National Cyber Security Centre conducted an emergency examination of Huawei. This review led to the decision to make this choice. This action also occurred in the midst of a heated trade war between China and the U.S., which is a close ally of the U.K.
Before the Extension
Previously, telecom companies such as BT and Vodafone had been instructed to remove Huawei 5G equipment from their core by January 2023 at the latest. On the other hand, a number of businesses voiced their opposition to the measures, expressing fear that they would not have the time to remove the expensive equipment from their infrastructure.
BT submitted a request in June for an extension beyond the government's deadline. The company stated that it might not be able to fulfill the date owing to delays caused by Covid-19 lockdowns. If the prohibition was rushed into effect, BT CEO Philip Jansen even issued a warning that it could cause network failures for the firm's consumers.
On the other hand, Huawei has already been removed from Vodafone's key infrastructure.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Trisha Kae Andrada
