The previous decision by the U.K. government to ban local telecoms firms from using Huawei equipment in the deployment of the country’s 5G networks has cost local carrier BT a total of £500 million ($612 million), local press reported, citing BT’s chief security and networks officer, Howard Watson, as saying.
The ban had been implemented on July 2020 over concerns that the use of Huawei gear in U.K. telcos’ network posed a risk to national security. The ban stipulated that all existing Huawei equipment must be fully removed from 5G networks by the end of 2027. Huawei had said its equipment did not pose any risk for national security.
