Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – The British Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden has unveiled a "Strategy for diversifying the supply chain involved in the creation of 5G networks." The document is part of a broader government program to phase out the technologies of the Chinese company Huawei by 2027.

On 14 July 2020, the British government has officially announced a de facto ban on the use of equipment from the Chinese company Huawei in the construction of national 5G mobile networks.

According to Dowden, the roadmap paves the way for the complete rejection of high-risk suppliers and contains new rules.

1. From September 2021, British companies will be prohibited from installing equipment from the Chinese technology corporation Huawei when creating 5G communication networks. It is noted that exceptions will be made only for those firms that already use Huawei equipment when deploying networks.

2. For the implementation of tasks in this area, the government will allocate about US$332 million only at the first stage. The strategy, in particular, provides for the creation of a National Telecommunications Laboratory and funding for testing equipment in cooperation with the Japanese company NEC to develop innovative technology for 5G.

3. With regard to companies that violate the regulation, it is proposed to impose fines of up to US$133,000 per day. The British media regulator Ofcom will have to monitor the implementation of the law. It is expected that the bill with the submitted proposals will be discussed in the parliament in early December this year.

In turn, experts note that by pushing for the ban, the UK runs the risk of retaliation from China, one of its largest and fastest growing trading partners, when it tries to develop more open trade policies outside the EU. In addition, the Chinese Ambassador to London, Liu Xiaoming, recently announced that Britain would "bear the consequences" of its hostile attitude towards China.

Overall, analysts estimate that a plan to ban the Chinese company’s equipment for the UK’s high-speed mobile networks threatens to move the country into a slow digital band, as it will incur significant costs and delay 5G rollouts by about 7 years.