Who Are We

So Huawei are going to be allowed to provide parts of the UK's 5G network. As a former professional in microwave networks (albeit satellite, but with some terrestrial connections), I can't help feeling that this decision is going to come back and bite us in the bum.

It cannot be denied that, as a Chinese company, Huawei is bound by Chinese law, which categorically states that Chinese companies have to hand over any data to the Chinese government, if and when requested to do so, and that the Chinese government can exert pressure in ways that a democratic government would find hard to do. That's simply a matter of fact.

It's also a matter of fact that there's not a single British company that can provide a sufficiently robust enough 5G network within the timescale Johnson has stipulated and the only European companies that manufacture the necessary infrastructure are Nokia and Eriksson, with Huawei already providing the majority of the equipment currently used in 3 and 4G, and these networks require interoperability with 5G. Thus Huawei is the natural choice from a cost perspective.

While GCHQ and others have no evidence of Huawei currently being used for spying for the Chinese government, that's not to say it can't in the future - the capability can be easily achieved through slipping spying payloads into future upgrades.

The Chinese government, having no opposition, can and does plan decades or even hundreds of years ahead, whereas any UK government is focused on the short term only and always has its eyes on the next election - in the case of Boris Johnson, he notoriously can't seem to see beyond teatime. India, which enjoys (if that's the right word) a lot of Chinese inward investment, is being pressurised with that investment being cut off should the Indian government not reverse its decision to bar Huawei from its 5G network. China is busily buying influence all around the world in a very long term strategy.

In allowing Huawei limited access, Johnson seems (as in a lot of issues at present) to be following the EU's line of thought, rather than that of the US, while depending on a US relationship to replace the possible loss in EU trade with an increase in US trade. More on this tomorrow...