The United Kingdom has prohibited telecom firms in the country from installing new Huawei equipment in 5G networks, effective from September 2021.
Earlier this week, the UK government introduced the Telecommunications (Security) Bill, under which telecom firms must follow stricter security rules, or face fines. The legislation proposes fines up to 10 percent of their annual turnover, or £100,000 a day, for not following the new rules and continuing to use Huawei equipment.
The bill came as part of the broader safeguards to be put on the use of high-risk vendors that pose security risks to telecoms, in a bid to protect the UK's 5G and gigabit-capable networks.
UK's Telecom Security Bill is stringent on cybersecurity. Very broad definitions. Policymakers may demand some action from companies. pic.twitter.com/LFGs5qJsK7
— Lukasz Olejnik (@lukOlejnik) November 24, 2020
In 2018, the Trump administration issued a decree banning the use of Huawei equipment, citing national security concerns about it allegedly facilitating spying efforts on part of China. The tech giant has repeatedly denied the accusations, while several US allies, including the UK, have followed suit over spying allegations.
As of today, experimental 5G networks have already been set up in part of China and South Korea.
