UK officials have proposed allowing Chinese technology company Huawei to play a limited role in the 5G network, reports Reuters citing two unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter.
The recommendation is understood to have been made at a meeting of senior government department officials on 22 January. It proposes banning Huawei from sensitive government systems and the data-heavy, sensitive network core. This closely follows a provisional decision made in 2019 under former Prime Minister Theresa May.
One of the sources said that "the technical and policy guidance hasn't changed", and that it was now a political decision. The UK government remains under intense pressure from the US to bar Huawei on national security grounds from the 5G network over fears that it might spy for Beijing, a claim strongly denied by the company.
The sources said that the proposed recommendations were a "calculated compromise" to placate the US and be presented as a tough restriction on Huawei. On the other hand, the proposals would satisfy leading UK telecoms operators, such as BT and Vodafone, which already use Huawei equipment in their networks and are against a total ban, arguing that it would put back 5G network roll-out by several years and cost million of pounds.
