UK extends deadline to remove Huawei equipment from 5G network core

Representative Image (Illustration by Suneesh Kalarickal)

Britain on Thursday extended the deadline to remove equipment and services from China’s Huawei in core network functions to Dec. 31, 2023, from an original target of Jan. 28, 2023, after consulting with the company and telecoms operators.

The government said the deadline to remove all Huawei gear from Britain’s 5G networks by the end of 2027 remained unchanged.

It also extended a requirement to limit Huawei to 35% of the full fibre access network by three months to Oct. 31, 2023.

Britain decided to ban Huawei and other vendors it deemed a high security risk from its 5G networks in 2020 following pressure from the United States.

The ban, which was enshrined in law last year, required operators such as BT, Vodafone and Hutchison, to switch to alternative suppliers and eventually remove Huawei equipment already installed in their networks.