Huawei is working with four major telecom operators to rollout 5G in the UK

EE is the first telecom to launch 5G services in the UK with Huawei, followed by Vodafone and now it’s being reported that Huawei has also won 5G contracts from UK’s two more top mobile operators.

Cambodian telecom tests 5G network with Huawei

According to Observer, in addition to Vodafone and EE, Huawei has won 5G contracts to build networks for Three and O2 when they go live. Which means UK’s top telecoms including Vodafone, O2, EE and Three are all using Huawei equipment for their 5G network rollout.

Apart from Huawei, mobile operators are also using option equipment from Ericson to remove reliance on a single equipment provider.

Back in April 2019, The National Security Council (NSC), chaired by Britain’s prime minister Theresa May has agreed to allow Huawei limited access to building “non-core” infrastructure such as antennas. This decision was opposed by many of the government’s official and currently under discussion among lawmakers.

Some of the assembly members say if Huawei is banned in the country, the result will be a huge delay in UK’s 5G development and the country will leave behind in the race of 5G, and also left mobile carrier looming with a single option for equipment.

In May, President Donald Trump signed official orders to blacklist Huawei in the name of national security threat and barred the company from doing business the U.S tech firms.

Following this, Trump also pressured other countries to stop using Huawei equipment for their national infrastructure including the UK at the cost of intelligence sharing.

Even after the US challenges, Huawei said it has signed 50 5G commercial contracts and shipped more than 150,000 base stations. Moreover, the company is planning to ship 500,000 base stations this year.