Britain waits for US before Huawei 5G decision

Britain said Monday it was "not yet in a position" to decide what involvement China's Huawei should have in the UK's 5G next-generation telecoms network.

Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright told parliament that London was still seeking clarity on the implications of US action against the Chinese telecoms giant, adding it would be "wrong to make specific decisions" beforehand.

"The government is not yet in a position to decide what involvement Huawei should have in the provision of the UK's 5G network," he said.

The sensitive decision, which the US authorities are monitoring closely, will therefore not be taken by the outgoing administration of Prime Minister Theresa May, who leaves office on Wednesday.

The decision will fall to her successor, either former London mayor Boris Johnson or Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

The new premier will have to decide whether to ban, partially admit or allow Huawei's complete involvement in the new 5G telecoms network.

Huawei faces pushback in some Western markets over fears that Beijing could spy on communications and gain access to critical infrastructure if the company is allowed to develop foreign 5G networks.

The company has repeatedly denied such allegations.

In May, Huawei was hit by an executive order from US President Donald Trump which effectively banned it from trading with any US companies, although a temporary licence was issued shortly after.

"Since the US government's announcement, we have sought clarity on its extent and implications but the position is not yet entirely clear," Wright said.

"Until it is, we have concluded it would be wrong to make specific decisions in relation to Huawei but we will do so as soon as possible."

Vodafone launched its 5G service in Britain this month, but without smartphones from Huawei.

By sidelining Huawei phones, Vodafone has mirrored action by EE, the first UK provider to roll out the technology that offers almost instantaneous data transfer which launched at the end of May.

Huawei to build wireless network for Canadian north
Ottawa (AFP) July 22, 2019 - Embattled Chinese telecom giant Huawei unveiled plans Monday to deploy high-speed wireless internet to dozens of underserved communities in Canada's remote northern regions.

The move -- mostly 4G deployments and not the superfast fifth-generation or 5G -- comes with Huawei under sanctions in the United States over national security concerns and amid a diplomatic crisis between Canada and China over the detention of a Huawei executive in Vancouver.

Huawei said it would partner with Ice Wireless and Iristel to help them connect by 2025 rural communities in the Arctic as well as remote areas of northeastern Quebec and Newfoundland & Labrador.

Huawei added that some 25 communities in the largely Inuit areas of the Nunavut territory would also benefit from the deployment.

"We strongly believe that everyone should be connected to 4G LTE, no matter where they live in Canada -- even in areas where high-speed service may not be economically viable," said Eric Li, president of Huawei Canada.

Although most Canadians have access to high-speed internet, connectivity remains unavailable across some sparsely populated areas of the country.

Huawei officials said they will work to deploy wireless internet that will operate in some of the coldest temperatures on earth.

"We need to use highly reliable, world-class equipment to minimize physical intervention and to avoid outages that risk making our communities isolated once again. That's why we partner with Huawei Canada," said Jean-Francois Dumoulin, vice president at Ice Wireless and Iristel.

The move comes with Washington pressuring its allies to avoid using Huawei for deployment of 5G wireless, claiming the Chinese firm's ties to Beijing and its intelligence services could pose security risks.

Meanwhile tensions have been high between Beijing and Ottawa since the arrest in December of Huawei chief financial officer Neng Wanzhou in Canada at the request of Washington.

US authorities want to put her on trial on fraud charges for allegedly violating Iran sanctions and lying about it to US banks -- accusations that Meng's lawyers dispute.

Since then, two Canadians have been arrested in China in what has been viewed as retaliation for Meng's detention.

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