U.K. bans Huawei from 5G network in a 'big win' for the Trump administration

The U.K. has pulled a reversal on Huawei.

Britain announced it will now ban equipment from Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications company, from its 5G wireless network, The New York Times reports.

This decision came after earlier this year, Britain announced it would allow Huawei on its 5G network, though the company's equipment would be limited to "less-critical parts." That January announcement had come despite pressure from the Trump administration, and since the U.S. has "repeatedly warned the U.K. that Huawei is a national security risk, claiming that China could use its equipment for espionage," it was "a sign the U.S. campaign against Huawei is faltering," Axios wrote at the time.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

But in what Axios now describes as a "big win for the Trump administration," the U.K. on Tuesday said it would ban the company's equipment from the network after all, requiring equipment that has been installed already to be removed by 2027, the Times reports.

"As facts have changed, so has our approach," Oliver Dowden, government telecommunications minister, said. "This has not been an easy decision, but it is the right one for the U.K.'s telecoms networks, for our national security and our economy, both now and indeed in the long run."

The "about-face" from Britain, the Times wrote, "signals a new willingness among Western countries to confront China." According to the Times, this move is expected to "delay the rollout of 5G in Britain by around two years."