http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 29, 2019 BEIJING REVIEW 25
The story was first published on Cnfocus.com
Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo
Comments to [email protected]of Huawei from current or future networks
FRXOGFDXVHVLJQLĶFDQWGHOD\Vq/DPEVDLG
*óSRVW%UH[LW
With no technical grounds to exclude
Huawei, nor any evidence from Vodafone
or EE to suggest any problems with the
equipment, delaying the use of its tech-
nology needs to be reversed and quickly.
A report titled The Impact on the UK of
a Restriction on Huawei in the Telecoms
Supply Chain by Assembly, a London-based
DQDO\VWĶUPFRQFOXGHGWKDWIXUWKHUGHOD\V
or inaction risk significant weaken of the
UK’s business environment.
The report was commissioned by the
UK’s four mobile network operators and
stated that a delay of 18 months to two
years would cost the UK between £4.5
billion ($5.4 billion) and £6.8 billion ($8.2
ELOOLRQ DVZHOODVPDQ\RIWKHEHQHĶWVDV
sociated with being a 5G leader.
“The UK is currently well-placed to pos-
sibly be the first country to launch 5G at
scale in the Western world, any delays will
result in the UK missing the opportunity
to be the host of pioneering experimenta-
tion,” the report stated.
XINHUAThe UK stands to benefit greatly
from 5G, with the government’s Future
Communications Challenge Group (FCCG)
reporting in 2017 that estimates of the
impact on the mobile sector would be £112
billion ($135.5 billion) by 2020, growing to
£198 billion ($239.6 billion) by 2030, nearly
5.7 percent of the UK’s GDP. Removing
Huawei from its networks would seriously
UHGXFHWKDWĶJXUH
Delays would also see research and
development opportunities in car manufac-
turing “lost” to countries such as Germany
and the Republic of Korea, and hamper the
“country’s level of competitiveness,” the
report added. The UK could also suffer a
loss of inward investment, according to the
report, having made 5G a key pillar in its
ability to attract companies to the country.
China’s Ambassador to the UK Liu
Xiaoming warned in June that any ban on
Huawei could hurt Chinese investment in
the UK. “It will send a very bad message
not only to Huawei but also to Chinese
businesses,” Liu told the BBC, adding that
blocking Huawei could lead to “bad effects
not only on trade but also on investment.”
This would be especially negative
given that the UK received more Chineseinvestment in 2018—£3.84 billion ($4.6
billion)—than any other country. With the
UK needing to lock in free trade agree-
ments post-Brexit, Johnson will not want to
rock the current “golden era” between the
two countries.
Johnson has promised that leaving the
EU will ensure greater freedom and pros-
perity for the British people but any dilly-
dallying like the previous administration
threatens to blunt that promise. With parlia-
ment about to break for its summer recess,
Johnson has weeks to formulate the details
of his master plan so his administration is
ready once the legislature reconvenes to
successfully leave by October 31.
A positive decision on Huawei offers
Johnson the opportunity to kill two birds
with one stone: to give the UK the 5G edge;
and to prove that it is out with the old, in-
decisive, chaotic government that blighted
May’s tenure, and in with a new, clear think-
ing, organized government that will ensure
that the promises made are kept, no ifs, no
buts. QVodafone launches 5G service in the UK using Huawei equipment in London on July 3WORLD