In snub to US, Britain will allow Huawei in 5G networks

Britain decided Tuesday to let Chinese tech giant Huawei have a limited role supplying new high-speed network equipment to wireless carriers, ignoring the US government's warnings that it would sever intelligence sharing if the company was not banned.

Britain's decision is the first by a major US ally in Europe and follows intense lobbying from the Trump administration and China as the two vie for technological dominance.

It sets up a diplomatic clash with the Americans, who claim that British sovereignty is at risk because the company could give the Chinese government access to data, an allegation Huawei denies.

"We would never take decisions that threaten our national security or the security of our Five Eyes partners," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, referring to a security arrangement in which Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, share intelligence. "We know more about Huawei and the risks that it poses than any other country in the world.?

The decision was awkward for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who risks the fury of one of Britain's closest allies at just the moment it needs the Trump's administration to quickly strike a trade deal after Brexit. Britain officially leaves the European Union at the end of the week, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is due to visit London on Wednesday to meet with Johnson and Raab to reaffirm the trans-Atlantic relationship.

A senior Trump administration official said the U.S. is disappointed by the decision, adding that the U.S. government would work with the U.K. on a "way forward" that leads to the exclusion of "untrusted vendor components" from 5G networks. The official was not authorized to comment on the sensitive diplomacy between longstanding allies and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In its decision, the British government said it was excluding "high risk" companies from supplying the sensitive "core" parts of the new fifth-generation, or 5G, networks. The core is the brain that keeps track, among other things, of smartphones connecting to networks and helps manage data traffic.

But Britain will allow high-risk suppliers to provide up to 35% of the less risky radio network, based on factors including the amount of data traffic and the number of base stations.

The announcement did not mention any companies by name but said "high-risk vendors are those who pose greater security and resilience risks to U.K. telecoms networks" - a clear reference to Huawei.

Huawei said it was "reassured" by the British decision.

"This evidence-based decision will result in a more advanced, more secure and more cost-effective telecoms infrastructure that is fit for the future," Vice-President Victor Zhang said. "It gives the UK access to world-leading technology and ensures a competitive market."

By giving Huawei limited access, Johnson's government is attempting to thread a path between the US and China, analysts said.

"In truth the UK had little room to manoeuvre," said Emily Taylor, CEO of Oxford Information Labs, a cyber intelligence company. The decision "seeks to carve an acceptable middle ground that will keep various contending forces happy," she said, noting that British wireless carries have already been using Huawei gear for 15 years.

The 5G technology is expected to drive the next wave of innovation, transmitting massive amounts of data from more objects and locations. It would, for example, help make possible self-driving cars or allow telemedicine, in which doctors control robots in surgery on patients miles away.

Huawei is the top global supplier of mobile networks, and its gear is considered cost-effective and high-quality.

The United States says that China's communist leaders could, under a 2017 national intelligence law, compel Huawei to carry out cyberespionage. The US has threatened repeatedly to cut off intelligence sharing with allies that use Huawei.

"Here's the sad truth: our special relationship is less special now that the UK has embraced the surveillance state commies at Huawei,? said US Sen. Ben Sasse, a Republican on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. "During the Cold War, Margaret Thatcher never contracted with the KGB to save a few pennies.?

With 5G, US officials also worry that because the "core" will run extensively on software, it could be nearly impossible to spot an accidental vulnerability or a malicious "backdoor" among millions of lines of computer code. Huawei denies the allegations, saying there's never been any evidence it is responsible for a breach.
For Britain, the 5G infrastructure program is considered critical as it leaves the EU and aims to position its economy to benefit from technological innovation.

The government said Tuesday it is taking some steps that will allow it "to mitigate the potential risk posed by the supply chain and to combat the range of threats, whether cybercriminals or state-sponsored attacks.? The plans include encouraging smaller suppliers such as South Korea's Samsung and Japan's NEC to enter the British market.

The government will draft legislation to make the security requirements mandatory.

In the meantime, the UK National Cyber Security Centre will issue guidance with practical steps on how to mitigate the risks to wireless operators, some of whom have already started installing Huawei 5G gear into their networks. They were reluctant to rip it out and replace it with equipment from rivals including Finland's Nokia and Sweden's Ericsson.

Mobile phone companies said they were analyzing the decision. Vodafone, which uses Huawei for parts of its radio network but not in its core, said that using multiple suppliers "is the best way to safeguard the delivery of services to all mobile customers."