Boris Johnson instructed officials to draw up plans to reduce Huawei's involvement in UK's 5G networks to zero by 2023, a reversal of a softer policy approach
The Prime Minister has instructed officials to draw up plans that would see China's involvement in the UK's 5G network reduced to zero
TelegraphCamilla Tominey
Context & Ripple Effects
In January the UK had settled on a managed compromise, letting Huawei build non-core elements of Britain's 5G network while keeping it out of sensitive sites. This instruction from Boris Johnson scraps that settlement entirely, directing officials to plan for zero Huawei involvement by 2023.
The shift proved durable rather than provisional: by July the government was phasing Huawei out early after a report questioned the viability of its kit under new US sanctions (phase-out starting this year), and by November the ban on new installations was pulled forward to September 2021 (from an initial 2027 timeframe) — with sources later telling Huawei that geopolitics itself was part of the calculus.
First-order effects
Huawei faces removal from UK 5G networks years faster than the January policy implied, and UK mobile operators are handed a forced replacement program for gear they had just been licensed to deploy.
Second-order effects
US sanctions become the decisive lever: once Washington tightened them in mid-2020, London moved from capping Huawei at non-core roles to outright exclusion, showing allied governments that vendor risk assessments can be repriced overnight by another country's export controls.
Third-order effects
If the arc holds — January compromise, May reversal, accelerated ban — 5G radio access splits into politically aligned supplier blocs, and Huawei's path runs through deeper domestic substitution, a pattern visible later in teardowns showing rising shares of made-in-China components in its phones.
The trend: Western telecom infrastructure is decoupling from Chinese vendors, with US export-control decisions rather than host-country security reviews setting the pace of exclusion.
Why did he sign Huawei on 28th jan - the same day as the 5 Eyes report on Chinese misdemeanour? Either brazen disregard for sensitive intelligence or a catastrophic oversight that would put national security at risk. Neither showers the PM in glory. https://twitter.com/...
Well done @borisjohnson for taking a strong stand against China and sending a clear message that Huawei should be phased out of 5G in the UK. Huawei poses a major national security risk to Great Britain and the free world. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ ...
If this is true, this is a very welcome change. The gov is recognising the path to zero is essential to end our dependence on Beijing. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ ...
Encouraging news that @BorisJohnson has instructed officials to draw up plans that would see China's involvement in the UK's infrastructure scaled down to zero by 2023. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ ...
Getting to zero by 2023: Boris Johnson to propose changes to #5G plan with goal of completely phasing out high-risk vendor Huawei. Means all those in Europe & beyond that have pointed to UK experience & approach to advocate for inclusion of Huawei have not more leg to stand on. h…