On 28 January 2020, following a meeting of the National Security Council, the UK Government granted Huawei Technologies, a Chinese telecommunications giant, a “limited” role in building up the nation’s 5G mobile wireless communications network. This decision was taken despite threats from the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that “we won’t be able to share information” with the UK if the proposed deal with what has been dubbed a “high-risk vendor” was to go ahead. The UK’s deal with Huawei could also jeopardise future UK-US trade agreements.
Huawei is, however, not a new player as far as the UK is concerned, and has indeed played a significant role in British telecommunications for the past eighteen years. Three out of the four major British mobile networks-BT, Vodafone and EE-have already been making use of Huawei broadband equipment. In an increasingly connected world, the UK ‘s actions are guided by the desire for a rapid roll out of 5G technology, designed to benefit not only individual British consumers but also the wider economy. Fifth-generation (5G) is the latest development in mobile wireless communication technology. Each successive generation has been characterised by progressively faster data transmission rates, increased bandwidth capacities, shorter latency times (the lag in time between sending and receiving data), and increased connectivity-linking together ever larger numbers of people and machines.
To better understand the benefits of 5G technology, a brief history lesson is not out of place. One G (1G) technology was introduced to the Tokyo metropolitan area in 1979 by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone. The first mobile or cellular phones used analogue signals to transmit voice messages. This was followed by 2G, in Finland in 1991, which used digital signals and supported text messaging (short message service, or SMS). 3G was launched in 2000, provided access to television and video, enabled surfing of the Internet, and allowed the playing of online games. Multimedia messaging (MMS) meant that pictures and videos could be sent online, in addition to text messages. The smartphone thereby ushered in social connectivity and fuelled the rapid growth of social media. 4G appeared in 2009 and was even faster. increased functionality allowed many new features, such as the streaming of high-definition of video on smartphones.
5G marks an improvement over 4G in three core areas: faster data transmission speeds (ten to twenty times that currently available and measured in gigabits per second), a lower latency, and greater bandwidth capacity. An increase in the amount of data that is transmitted at high speed will allow the simultaneous handling of several thousand devices. Increased connectivity will further expand the so-called “Internet of Things”. This term refers to a network of smart devices, including such diverse “things” as washers and dryers, refrigerators, baby monitors, autonomous (self-driving cars), traffic cameras, street lights, fire alarms and so on. Other foreseeable applications of 5G technology include smart cities and smart manufacturing.
This is where Huawei comes in. The choice of this particular provider is linked to its commanding market position and its proven record of technological innovation, which allows Huawei to upgrade 5G infrastructure faster and at lower cost than existing competitors. Huawei’s impressive track record dates back to 1987, when it was founded in Shenzhen by Ren Zhengfei, a veteran of the corps of engineers of the People’ s Liberation Army. From humble beginnings, the company started out making telephone exchange switches. It has steadily grown ever since into the world’s second largest manufacturer of smart phones and a major provider of mobile telecommunications equipment.
Despite all of Huawei’s successes, the company has continued to face major hurdles in the global market. This can be best understood in relation to the structure of mobile communications networks. The core of a network, which can be likened to its nerve centre, is distinct from the periphery. The UK approach is to protect the core, while making use of Huawei technology in the periphery. The periphery, also known as the Radio Access Network (RAN), links the core with individual mobile devices through a system of base stations and antennas. There are, however, concerns about potential encroachment by Huawei from the periphery into the edge, or the boundary between the periphery and core. This may facilitate future Chinese state-induced cyber-spying activities or a malicious disruption of communications within the sensitive core. China’s National Intelligence Law of 2017 indeed has the power to request Chinese organisations to support the country’s national intelligence work. To protect against any potential misuse, the UK has restricted Huawei to the periphery of the network, kept it away from sensitive sites such as military bases and nuclear sites, and also capped its share of the British market at 35 per cent. This cap is to be reduced over time as other providers enter the market. Further protection is provided by the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre, overseen by the National Cyber Security Centre, which monitors Huawei activities within the UK.
Beyond the UK, Huawei has met with mixed success in trying to flog its products and services. On May 15 2019, President Trump declared a national emergency to protect US computer networks from “foreign adversaries”. American firms were thereafter banned selling components and technology to Huawei and related companies. Huawei was classified as a national security threat, and placed on the US Department of Commerce’s Entity List, banning the company from acquiring US technology without government approval. Huawei equipment could no longer be used to provide American telecommunications infrastructure. This ban was also subsequently imposed by Australia, New Zealand and Japan. All along, Huawei has claimed to be independent of the Chinese government, pointing to the fact that it is an employee-owned private organisation and that it has not actually been shown to have engaged in cybercrime.
It would appear that the UK government has taken a pragmatic, and yet controversial, “evidence-based” decision, guided by advice from its intelligence and security services, as well as from technology experts. What this decision augurs for the future is now just a matter of “wait and see”.
Ashis Banerjee
PS: Continued pressure from Conservative backbench MPs in the House of Commons and severe criticism from the Trump administration led to the inevitable. On 14 July 2020, the British government made a U-turn, prohibiting Huawei from supplying operators of the 5G network in the UK from 31 December 2020 onwards.