Huawei's 5G equipment can be used by UK operators to deploy the 5th generation national network. London thus gives the impression of resisting American pressures, which the anti-Huawei campaign now seems to be skating. However, there are three concessions: Huawei has been officially designated as a "high risk" supplier, will be confined to the less critical equipment of the network, and its equipment will not be able to represent more than 35% of the network.
The UK has decided that UK operators will be able to use Huawei equipment to deploy their 5G network. However, this is far from being a white seing for the manufacturer: the latter has been designated as a "high-risk supplier", market players will not be able to use Huawei network core equipment, and the military sector will not be able, in any case, to supply itself from Huawei.
However, 10 Downing Street believes that Huawei should be given the opportunity to deploy the rest of the equipment, within a 35% market share. This decision of the British can be read in at least three ways. First, it was a defeat for Trump's diplomacy, which redoubled pressure to send delegations to Britain to try to convince the authorities of Huawei's spying risk.
Huawei, "high-risk" supplier but authorized
Trump can, however, present the many concessions of the British, including the term "high-risk supplier" and the ban on using Huawei in network heart equipment, as victories – his message is in any case past. Finally, for Britain, this conclusion is undoubtedly one of the best possible on a field as undermined as this one for months by American diplomacy. But also British diplomacy itself.
The U.S. government has used the same strategies with other allies in Europe, such as Germany or France. But the UK is in a special position. Firstly, because its intelligence services are integrated into the English-language organization Five Eyes, which works very closely with the United States. Also because the country hopes to forge a trade agreement with the United States as soon as it leaves the EU.
Agreement that the country needs, which reduces the room for manoeuvre of the British authorities. To make matters worse, the United States has waved the threat of re-evaluating states using Huawei equipment to U.S. intelligence through a trump-minded politician. A threat that the main recipient, a member of Five Eyes, has little doubt about.
Read also: Huawei 5G technologies do not pose a threat according to British intelligence
Thus, by even partially opposing the will of the United States, Great Britain is at the same time sending a strong signal to its other partners of the Five Eyes alliance: the thunder of Washington is not necessarily followed by lightning…
Source: The New York Times