The UK government has extended a deadline for telcos to remove equipment from Chinese tech giant Huawei from their 5G mobile networks.
Telecom companies have until December 2023 to remove the Huawei equipment used at telephone mast and switchboard sites from their network “cores” – where some of the most sensitive data is processed. The government had originally ordered to do so by January.
Meanwhile, the requirement for companies to reduce the amount of Huawei equipment in their essential networks to 35% has been pushed back to October 31, 2023 – after an early July ultimatum.
They still have to ban new installments of Huawei 5G and completely remove it from their networks by the end of 2027. The order was incorporated into legislation last year with a law called the Telecommunications Security Act.
Prime Minister Liz Truss’ government has sent legal notices to 35 UK telecoms network operators.
Britain initially said it would allow Huawei to launch 5G networks. But in 2020, the government chose to ban Huawei for data security reasons. The Shenzhen-based company was classified as a “high risk” supplier, meaning it poses potential national security risks.
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