UK Bans Huawei From Its 5G Network, Operators Ordered To Stop Buying Equipment From Chinese Telecom Giant

In a big blow to controversial Chinese telecom giant Huawei, the United Kingdom has banned it from its 5G network.

Existing mobile operators in the country have been ordered to stop buying equipment from Huawei by the end of this year and phase out all existing Huawei equipment from their infrastructure by 2027, CNBC has reported.

UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden made this announcement while speaking in the parliament today (14 July).

This is a marked departure from a January order which had given Huawei restricted access to future telecom networks like 5G. This announcement comes after US President Donald Trump urged key allies including the UK to block Huawei from their 5G networks.

US intelligence officials contend that Huawei's equipment could enable China to spy on sensitive communications.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had earlier said in regards to Huawei and ZTE that, "We cannot and will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to exploit network vulnerabilities and compromise our critical communications infrastructure".

Huawei has been described as being a part of "Chinese Communist Party's surveillance state" by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.