The United Kingdom is considering a ban on the installation of Huawei"s 5G equipment as concerns over privacy issues linked to Huawei equipment continue to loom large. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg writes that the ban could come as early as September next year.
Lawmakers from the Conservative Party have voiced these demands via a telecommunications bill that is due in parliament next week. The draft legislation proposes fines of as much as 10% of sales or 100,000 pounds ($133,000) a day for violations. This would affect prominent U.K. carriers like Vodafone and BT Group, who have already warned that the country could face blackouts if they’re forced to remove Huawei products from their networks over national security concerns.
The government is due to publish more details about diversifying the U.K. 5G supply chain in the next few weeks. Should this bill pass, the pressure will shift to companies like Nokia Oyj and Ericsson as U.K. networks would seek their equipment.
This proposal comes at a time when lawmakers are pushing for enforcing a stricter ban on the use of Huawei telecommunication equipment in the country. Earlier in July, the government decided that all existing 5G infrastructure from the Chinese electronics manufacturer must be removed from networks by 2027. This ban on installing Huawei equipment would also add to the strict legislation surrounding the buying of the firm"s equipment that is meant to kick in next month.
Source: Bloomberg