BT has announced that it is removing equipment belonging to the Chinese firm, Huawei from its 4G network. The decision by BT comes after concerns have recently been raised over Huawei’s present in major telecoms infrastructures in the UK.
This week, the head of MI6 suggested that the UK needed to decide whether it was “comfortable” with Chinese ownership of telecoms equipment in the UK, after governments in the US and Australia blocked Huawei’s equipment from the rollout of future 5G network programmes.
“We need to decide the extent to which we are going to be comfortable with Chinese ownership of these technologies and these platforms in an environment where some of our allies have taken a very definite position,” said the head of the MI6, Alex Younger.
This is not the first time concerns have been raised over Huawei. In the past, concerns were raised over the potential involvement of the firm in changes to the emergency services network. Huawei has repeatedly received questions based on its possible link with the Chinese state – though the firm has always denied any inappropriate links to the Chinese Government.
