BT says 'impossible' to remove Huawei from UK's infrastructure before 2030

[Ink]

Content source

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53388805

A statement will be made on Tuesday, 14th July 2020.

BT's chief has said it would be "impossible" to remove Huawei from the whole of the UK's telecoms infrastructure before 2030.

The government is expected to say that no new 5G equipment from the Chinese firm can be installed after 2021, and that all its existing 5G kit must be removed later - possibly by 2025.

But it is unclear if similar deadlines will also be given for Huawei's other mobile and broadband gear.

BT's EE network uses Huawei's equipment to provide its 2G, 4G and 5G networks.

In addition, its Openreach division uses Huawei to provide the "access technology" in its exchanges to provide fibre to the premises (FTTP) broadband - effectively converting electrical signals into light-based ones.

Huawei also provides about 70,000 of Openreach's roadside cabinets, which are used to provide fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) broadband connections. However, BT does not expect to be ordered to replace these, as they will be superseded in time by FTTP technology.

Mr Jansen also repeated a warning first given by his firm last week, saying that "outages would be possible" if BT is forced to pull out Huawei's 5G kit too quickly.

He added that it would still need to install software provided by Huawei for some time to come.

 

[upnorth]

"If you wanted to have no Huawei in the whole of the telecoms infrastructure across the whole of the UK, I think that's impossible to do in under 10 years." BT's EE network uses Huawei's equipment to provide its 2G, 4G and 5G networks.

"Over the next five years, we'd expect 15 to 20 big software upgrades," he explained. "If you don't have those software upgrades, you're running gaps in critical software that could have security implications."

 

[Cortex]

There is a strong possibility that Huawei gear is arriving in the UK with a different badge - Most of the UK's none FTTP (FTTC) are Huawei, including just about all BT's routers & most others for the home & some commercial being Huawei - This being over the last 10 years or so along with 1000's of roadside cabinets either Huawei or ECI, interestingly Huawei tend to be more reliable than ECI & in the majority it will be a long, long time before these are gone as BT are still adding users to them - 10 years is very optimistic I feel - If BT can afford it?

 

[Stopspying]

There is a strong possibility that Huawei gear is arriving in the UK with a different badge - Most of the UK's none FTTP (FTTC) are Huawei, including just about all BT's routers & most others for the home & some commercial being Huawei - This being over the last 10 years or so along with 1000's of roadside cabinets either Huawei or ECI, interestingly Huawei tend to be more reliable than ECI & in the majority it will be a long, long time before these are gone as BT are still adding users to them - 10 years is very optimistic I feel - If BT can afford it?

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I heard a discussion on Huawai being banned/removed from the UK's communications systems on the radio news this morning. It included an interview with Ericsson's boss, a major alternative to Huawei. He was asked about the fact that a lot of his company's products were manufactured in China, the obvious implication being about how safe they are from having possible backdoors etc. I didn't hear a clear answer, though I did hear that they are diversifying their manufacturing base - Estonia, Poland, USA and India.

 

[upnorth]

Huawei 5G kit must be removed from UK by 2027

The government is also banning telecoms firms from buying new Huawei 5G kit after 31 December.

www.bbc.com

Huawei: What does the ban mean for you?

Restrictions on use of Huawei's kit are set to slow down the rollout of 5G and perhaps broadband too.

www.bbc.com

Digital Minister Oliver Dowden acknowledged, the decisions will have "consequences for every constituency in the country".

The Chinese firm itself has claimed customers will face bigger bills as a consequence of the billions of pounds that will be spent ripping out its kit and moving to other suppliers. And there could be further consequences for the wider economy if Huawei diverts its research and recruitment funds elsewhere, not to mention other Chinese companies that might now see the UK as a less friendly market.

 

[Ink]

Dumb decisions made by... because... reasons.

 

[HarborFront]

UK is pressured by the US to do so. Now Canada is following UK's path for she's afraid of being isolated by UK

 

[Stopspying]

Dumb decisions made by... because... reasons.

Do you mean dumb decisions made when deciding to use Huawei initially, or deciding to remove their products now, or both?

 

[CyberPanther]

The main issue here is that most of the 5G patents are owned by Huawei.

The challenge is how to avoid Huawei equipment for building 5G networks.

Huawei’s 5G Patents Means U.S. Will Pay Despite Trump Ban