Impossible to remove Huawei gear from Britain’s infrastructure in under 10 years: BT chief

LONDON: The head of British telecommunications giant BT said today that it would be "impossible" to remove controversial Chinese giant Huawei's equipment from Britain's infrastructure in under 10 years.

BT chief executive Philip Jansen, speaking to the BBC, also warned that Britain could suffer "outages" and potential security risks if the sector was forced to stop dealing with the Chinese firm.

The BBC reported today that the government could stop installing Huawei equipment after 2021, and could possibly try to remove all of the company's 5G kit by 2025.

"If you were to try and not have Huawei at all (in 5G activities) ideally we'd want seven years and we could probably do it in five," BT's chief executive Philip Jansen told BBC Radio 4's Today programme when asked about the time frame.

"If you wanted to have no Huawei in the whole of the telecoms infrastructure across the whole of the UK, I think that's impossible to do in under ten years."

The Chinese company's equipment is already ubiquitous in Britain's older-generation 3G and 4G networks.

"Huawei has been in the telecoms infrastructure for about 20 years and a big supplier to BT and many others in the UK telecoms industry," noted Jansen.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to ban Huawei from Britain's 5G network in a landmark decision that will anger Beijing but win plaudits from US President Donald Trump.

Britain's National Security Council (NSC), chaired by Johnson, will meet tomorrow to discuss Huawei. Media Secretary Oliver Dowden will announce a decision to the House of Commons later in the day.

The immediate excuse for the about turn in policy is the impact of new US sanctions on chip technology, which London says affects Huawei's ability to remain a reliable supplier.

It is unclear how far Johnson will go tomorrow. Telecoms firms already had to cap Huawei's role in 5G at 35% by 2023. Reducing it to zero over an additional two to fours years is now being discussed, although operators have warned that going too fast could delay key technology and disrupt services. – AFP, Reuters

source https://www.thesundaily.my/business/impossible-to-remove-huawei-gear-from-britain-s-infrastructure-in-under-10-years-bt-chief-CM2817501