UK government kowtows further to the US over Huawei

The UK wants to introduce further laws to ensure our telecoms sector does exactly what it’s ordered to do by US sanctions against Huawei.

Specifically the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced a consultation on ‘its proposed legal instruments to mandate the removal of all Huawei equipment from 5G networks by end of 2027.’ On one level this just seems to be the legal rubber-stamping of the measures introduced in response to US pressure back in 2020, but there are one or two additional concessions.

‘The consultation includes proposed measures for full fibre broadband operators to stop installing Huawei equipment affected by US sanctions,’ said the DCMS announcement. That means all of it, presumably, so Huawei can no longer flog fibre kit to UK operators. In what appears to be an attempt to sugar the pill, those operators are given a bit more time to ensure Huawei equipment accounts for no more than 35% of their fixed line inventory.

Here are all the proposed legal measures the DCMS will introduce is consulting on:

“In July 2020 the government announced it would hold a technical consultation with full fibre operators regarding their use of Huawei equipment,” said UK Chief Censor Nadine Dorries. “Following the conclusion of that technical consultation, the government worked with the National Cyber Security Centre to analyse responses.

“As a result, the proposed direction includes a ban on the installation of sanctions-affected equipment in full fibre networks, effective from the issuing of the designated vendor direction for Huawei. The government considers that preventing any future installation of this equipment addresses the national security risk posed by Huawei in full fibre networks, but it will consider views from consultees before reaching a final decision.”

As ever our final, binding decision on the matter is subject to the whims of whoever is ostensibly leading the US. Huawei’s equipment is as risky as the Americans tell us it is and if we disagree then we’ll be punished like the naughty vassals we are. UK operators should be grateful the US is allowing them a bit of Huawei fixed-line kit but, if they’ve been paying attention, they might be tempted to get rid of even that before they’re ordered to.