The United Kingdom is reportedly going to use Huawei’s equipment to build out parts of its 5G network system, but according to The Wall Street Journal, it will only build out parts that aren’t considered its core network.
The news was made public after the U.K. had its National Security Council meeting on Tuesday, during which Prime Minister Theresa May and other government minister agreed that the Shenzhen, China-based company will be allowed to construct part of the network.
Citing an anonymous official source, the WSJ reported that the country has “barred” Huawei from building out any of its critical core networks. It’s important to note that the core network is where the most sensitive data is transmitted.
The official said that the decision wasn’t final until it’s presented in front of other lawmakers in the British Parliament.
Huawei said in a statement that it “welcomes reports that the U.K. government is moving toward allowing Huawei to help build the U.K.’s 5G network.”
The U.K. government did not confirm the decision and noted that an official announcement would be made shortly.
In Canada, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale is still reviewing whether or not Huawei will participate in providing carriers with 5G equipment.
In particular, Bell and Telus have shelled out a considerable amount of money and have used Huawei equipment to build out 3G and 4G LTE wireless networks. Both companies have confirmed Huawei equipment is not used in its core infrastructure.
The two have not confirmed who will be its 5G network vendor, but Telus did confirm to MobileSyrup that Huawei’s equipment is not interoperable, meaning other companies’ equipment can’t be used on top of existing Huawei infrastructure.
Telus says Huawei makes equipment that is catered to the company so it is able to offer better network speeds and connections.
One of Huawei’s chairmen, Eric Xu, also noted during a roundtable discussion in China that Huawei’s equipment is not interoperable, but that it was working on research to make its equipment interoperable.
Tensions with Huawei grew in December shortly after Vancouver authorities arrested the company’s global CFO Meng Wanzhou.
The United States charged her, the company and its subsidiary Skycom with 13 counts of bank and wire fraud charges. Huawei has denied any allegations and subsequently has sued the U.S. and Canada for separate reasons.
Meng is currently waiting to hear details about her extradition trial and will know more on May 8th.
Source: Wall Street Journal
