Huawei urges UK government not to rush into 5G decision

According to foreign media reports, on Wednesday local time, Huawei's senior vice president and head of UK business Victor Zhang urged the British government not to rush into costly decisions due to US sanctions, such as gradually removing Huawei's equipment from the UK's 5G network.

In January this year, the British government decided to allow Huawei to participate in the construction of non-sensitive parts of the UK's 5G network to a limited extent, and limit Huawei's participation to less than 35%. However, it was recently reported that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to reduce Huawei's participation in the construction of the 5G network to zero, and the final decision may be announced at the end of the month.

In response, Zhang Guowei said that the US sanctions against Huawei will not have an immediate impact on the UK's existing networks. He said, "We urge the British government to take more time... We are talking about long-term impacts, which will take several months to understand."

He further pointed out that any decision to exclude Huawei from the development of 5G networks could delay the UK's nationwide 5G deployment schedule by up to 18 months.

Zhang Guowei estimated that the two-year delay would cost the British economy up to 29 billion pounds ($35.8 billion). "This decision will affect the future of the UK's digital strategy and digital economy, which can be said to be very important," he said, adding that Huawei would work hard to resolve any restrictions imposed on it.