* UK risks Trump's ire by giving Huawei role in 5G
* Washington had warned Johnson against doing so
* China's Huawei welcomes decision
(Adds details and quotes)
By Jack Stubbs and Paul Sandle
LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson on
Tuesday granted China's Huawei a limited role in Britain's 5G
mobile network, resisting U.S. pressure to exclude the company
from next generation communications on fears China could use it
to steal secrets.
In the biggest test of his post-Brexit foreign policy to
date, Johnson ruled that "high-risk vendors" would be allowed
into the "non-sensitive" parts of 5G networks, but their
involvement would be capped at 35%.
They would be excluded from the sensitive core of networks,
where data is processed, and banned from all critical networks
and sensitive locations such as nuclear sites and military
bases, the government said.
The decision will dismay President Donald Trump's
administration which fears China could use Huawei to steal
secrets and which has warned that if London gives Huawei a role
then it could scale back intelligence cooperation.
"This is a UK-specific solution for UK-specific reasons and
the decision deals with the challenges we face right now,"
Communications Secretary Nicky Morgan said following a meeting
of the National Security Council chaired by Johnson.
Huawei was not mentioned by name in the British government's
statement, but British cyber security officials said they had
always treated the company as a "high risk" vendor.
The White House and U.S. state department did not
immediately respond for a request to comment.
Huawei, though, was happy.
"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 Victor Zhang, Vice-President, Huawei.
"This evidence-based decision will result in a more
advanced, more secure and more cost-effective telecoms
infrastructure that is fit for the future. It gives the UK
access to world-leading technology and ensures a competitive
market."
Sources told Reuters last week senior British officials had
proposed granting Huawei a limited role in the 5G network - a
"calculated compromise" which could be presented to Washington
as a tough restriction but also accepted by British operators
already using the company's equipment.
Huawei, the world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment,
says the United States wants it blocked from Britain's 5G
network because no U.S. company can offer the same range of
technology at a competitive price.
The United States has argued that as 5G technology evolves,
the distinction between the "edge" and "core" will blur as data
is processed throughout the network, making it difficult to
contain any security risks.
Huawei's equipment is already used by Britain's biggest
telecoms companies such as BT and Vodafone, but
it has been largely deployed at the "edge" of the network and
excluded in the "core" where data is processed.
(Reporting by Jack Stubbs, Luke Baker, Kylie MacLellan and Paul
Sandle; Editing by Alexander Smith and Jon Boyle)
Vodafone (VOD)
BT (BT.A)
