UK ‘to decide on Huawei 5G next week’

Britain is expected to announce next week whether to allow China’s Huawei to develop its 5G network, an official said yesterday, setting out reasons for agreeing despite US opposition.

The official said the decision had not yet been taken but it was likely to be next week.

There had been speculation that Britain would allow Huawei into “non-core” elements of the next-generation 5G mobile networks, such as antennae and base stations attached to masts and roofs.

The United States has banned Huawei from the rollout of its 5G network because of concerns -- strongly denied -- that the firm could be under the control of Beijing.

It has been lobbying Britain to do the same, even threatening to limit intelligence sharing between the two allies if the UK goes its own way.

British Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said this week that a decision would be made “soon”, adding that many factors were being considered.

These included “the availability of other providers” and “the work that Huawei has already done in the United Kingdom”, she said.

The senior official said Britain -- unlike the United States -- had been using Huawei technology in its systems for the past 15 years.