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LAST UPDATE | 28 Jan 2020
BRITAIN HAS GREENLIGHTED a limited role for Chinese telecoms giant Huawei in the country’s 5G network, insisting that “high risk vendors” would be excluded from “sensitive” core infrastructure.
The decision — following a meeting of the National Security Council chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson — came shortly after Brussels said it would allow Huawei a limited 5G role in the European Union.
“We want world-class connectivity as soon as possible but this must not be at the expense of our national security,” Britain’s Digital Secretary Nicky Morgan said in reference to high-speed fifth generation networks that offer almost instantaneous data transfer.
“High risk vendors never have been and never will be in our most sensitive networks,” she stressed.
Such vendors will be excluded from sensitive UK locations, such as nuclear sites and military bases, while their market share is to be capped.
Both Brussels and London, while never explicitly naming the Chinese giant, are grappling to find a middle way to balance Huawei’s huge dominance in the 5G sector with security concerns.
‘Reassured’
Huawei welcomed news that it would have at least a limited role in building Britain’s 5G networks, after Washington lobbied hard for the company to be sidelined completely on security concerns.
“Huawei is reassured by the UK government’s confirmation that we can continue working with our customers to keep the 5G roll-out on track,” said Huawei Vice-President Victor Zhang.
Washington has banned Huawei from the rollout of the next generation mobile networks because of concerns — strongly denied — that the firm could be under the control of Beijing.
Unlike the United States, Britain has been using Huawei technology in its systems for the past 15 years.
Intelligence
The US had threatened to limit intelligence sharing with London in the event of Huawei winning a UK role.
All eyes will now be on Washington’s response to today’s announcements, while analysis group Fitch warned that the US could indeed look to retaliate.
“The US has been putting a lot of pressure on its allies to ban Huawei, and failure to do so will raise questions about its strategy, as we expect it will look to retaliate, with threats to stop intelligence-sharing already made,” Fitch said Tuesday.
The matter could also meanwhile hinder the chances of a favourable Britain-US trade deal after Brexit, according to analysts.
While there has been intense debate in Europe and the US about whether or not to exclude Huawei from developing 5G, Johnson on Monday insisted that the UK can have “technological progress” while preserving national security.
In Brussels today, the European Union ruled out banning the company.
“It is not a question of discrimination, it is a question of laying down rules. They will be strict, they will be demanding and of course we will welcome in Europe all operators who are willing to apply them,” a top EU official said.
US President Donald Trump had ordered American firms to cease doing business with market leader Huawei, and urged allies to follow suit, while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday declared that Britain faced a “momentous decision”.
Huawei is widely viewed as providing the most advanced alternative for super-fast data transfers behind technologies such as self-driving cars and remotely operated factory robots.
Existing providers of limited 5G network infrastructure in Britain include Nokia and Ericsson, while non-core elements are counted as antennae and base stations attached to masts and roofs.
A number of UK mobile phone operators, including EE and Vodafone, currently sell 5G services — but it is so far available only in a handful of cities, notably London and Birmingham.
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Brexit: We want to leave the EU and have a hard birder with Europe.
Also Brexit: wait…other countries have borders with us? And hard borders work both ways? Won’t somebody work with us so we can go on holidays.
It’s what the great British people voted for Brexit? Why are they upset?
They really are so self absorbed and deluded, that they expect to be accommodated at every juncture by the EU, while they are simultaneously taking a dump all over the Brexit withdrawal agreement and specifically the protocol which they themselves put forward, instead of the original backstop that they had also previously agreed to.
While continuously belittling the impacts of Brexit on Northern Ireland, the island of Ireland and cross border trade, as was and is being highlighted by others.
@David Van-Standen: That would be their sense of colonial entitlement, the penny still hasn’t dropped.
Dear Britain,
Stop blaming everyone else for your bad decisions and allowing your voters to be conned by English nationalists, trying to reignite a dead empire.
Brexit ! Brexit ! Brexit !
Fooled Britannia
Kind regards
Chris
@Chris Curran: The Tory Manifesto since 2016 is Brexit consequences are everyone else’s fault.
“You choose your leaders and place your trust, you’ve made your bed you better lie in it.”
@Paul Gregg: great tune
@Paul Gregg: Yes For 6 hours in The Car
Well done Borris
Tory leadership hopeful Truss said: “This awful situation should have been entirely avoidable and is unacceptable.“
That’s true Liz, but you didn’t want to avoid Brexit, and yet this is what it looks like. Can’t have it both ways.
@Type17: Trouble is she did want to avoid brexit. She campaigned to remain during the referendum!
@halfmanhalftea: The power-base in the Conservative party has swung far to the right in recent years, and all of the moderates (eg: Ken Clarke and similar) have been sidelined – anyone who is a member of the current cabinet is definitely a hard brexiteer, regardless of their pre-referendum stance.
Britain were the ones insisting that everybody entering and leaving should have their passports stamped post Brexit. Obviously this was going to create huge extra work at border control. Why should France (or anyone else) bear the cost of hiring and training additional staff to implement a UK rule? They voted for it so just suck it up.
@Paul Shepherd: exactly, France be fools to plow in millions to increase boarder check capacity for a third country for choosing to have the boarders
@Paul Shepherd: Exactly, they didn’t have to make life harder for other but they left it to their politicians who did it. Now the same parties are getting complaints that are entirely of their own making. The only sound people in this are the groups that have been through this personally and are turning up with sandwiches for the drivers.
@John Joseph Barry: They can’t even if they want to. The facility is in Dover and the UK decided not to spend the money to increase the capacity for the French to work in.
Sounds like a border protocol is needed
Ha ha this is classic ..go on the french they don’t give a f#€k
Own your brexit England now over to you Spain block up passport control with one young fella on the non EU line…brexit means brexit after all..
@David cotter: unfortunately the lines are for “EU and UK” passengers but when I was in Spain a couple of weeks ago they fast tracked the Irish. Gracias!
@Mattress Dick: Same in the Netherlands, they made a new line for us and opened a passport control booth. (had kids so couldn’t scan through)
I know I shouldnt laugh but this is priceless
They have some nerve to blame others for the consequences of their own actions.
Panic at the Tunnel. Bumper to bumper. Wait a minute! Where’s me jumper?
@Alex Marquis: I remember at the time I. The UK people asking what’s a ‘Jumper’?
anyone feel sorry for them ha ha
#takingbackcontrol
The law of unintended consequences comes to mind. They voted to leave Europe and expected everything to stay the same.
@Ronnie Smith: And they still want to go to Europe on holidays. I thought people chose to go on places that are better than home. Oh wait….
When Liz Truss gets into the top job and the border is back in Ireland! Then will the DUP complain that that everyone’s passport has to be looked at? Brexit!!!
These must be the sunlit uplands where no British people need passports, it’s for their own good (sarcasm). I bet all the local radio stations are playing “Hotel California”.
Love the French officials tweet on this :) (Not my problem…)
“The French authorities recall that the fluidity of flows at the port of Dover is the joint responsibility of a set of players, including in particular the shipping companies, the port of Dover and the British authorities. They will continue to work closely with all of them in order to manage the exceptional flows expected in the days to come in the most efficient way.”
https://twitter.com/prefet59/status/1550478680035565569?cxt=HHwWgoCxtaGJtIQrAAAA
This is why the world isn’t ready for electric cars. Imagine all those vehicles running out of charge one after another….
@Liz O’Neill: Best comment!
“ we left your club, reneged on agreements made in process, no longer pay membership dues. But why are you treating us differently now???”.
Oh please, donnez-moi un break https://twitter.com/bmay/status/1550576820814286848/photo/1
@Felicity Rawson: So a self inflicted foot shooting incident.
I hope the French open a fast track EU passport lane.
Chaos, stuck in your car for hours in England, nothing to do with Brexit. It is France ruining your holiday
@John Kelly: not so. Its the port of Dover which before brexit wasn’t fit for purpose and now with brexit is a total calamity. Maximum passport controls at Dover for the French under 10. If you were ever in Dover you would know that. On the opposite side in Calais a whole new port. Nowhere near the delays as up to 30 passport booths are available which are never required as this port is properly managed. Problem no. 1 Dover. Problem no. 2 brexit. The French are not on the problem list yet.
@John Kelly: Oh dear, quelle horreur!
That’s nothing. I queued for 2hrs yesterday with two young kids to pay €2 for 10 seconds on a slide in Avondale. That’s torture.
Thanks for the reminder, I’m dying to try that slide in Avondale myself, when it’s less busy.
It’s back to that classic newspaper headline from years ago – FOG IN THE CHANNEL, EUROPE CUT OFF’!
Before Brexit hardly any controls and no holdups at Calais. After Brexit British insisting the French invest in improving and speeding up their control systems..
WHY should they ?..
No point in Blaming the EU… Brixit is the cause of your problems and you voted for it…plain and simple
Borriss lies coming Home to ROOST
France had all their booths full. Dover too small but blame the EU.
Actions have consequences:
https://www.ft.com/content/2a6662a0-975e-4bcd-9f5b-e241256db4df
It would be interesting to do a survey on how many people waiting in their cars voted for Brexshit…
Pay France to do pre-Clearance in the UK. No point having a lovely tunnel if you can’t sort the paperwork.
They were told what would happen i small little words and drawing some in crayon to keep it simple, what would happen.
They ignored all of that and sang Rule Britannia and talked about the good old days. When they ruled the world and people treated them properly.
Now they are treated by the rest of the world the way they deserve and they do not like it at all.
A bit unfair because there are some of the most wonderful people ever who will be badly affected by this.
However, to the ones that voted for it, enjoy it as you made it and you own it.
We took enough of their lies and more and who can blame us for laughing our heads off at them.
They can of course come to Ireland without all that hassle. We will take their money no problem.
Welcome to the Costa Banna Strand that the Costa del Sol
So, the UK are again blaming everyone else for their f<$#% ups? Wow, they chose to go back to the dark ages, passport controls are a by-productof Brexit. Duh!!! Don't blame the French, the Brits chose and now that doesn't suit them, the chaos is of their own making. Suck it up…
Like that’s a new thing. It could have been worse. They could have spent hours trapped on a hot smelly car deck of a ferry waiting to offload at the French side? Then they would howl!!
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