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Tag: UK

  • Amazon Faces First-Ever UK Strike

    Amazon Faces First-Ever UK Strike

    Amazon is facing its first-ever strike in the UK, with hundreds of workers at its Coventry warehouse announcing strike dates.

    While Amazon is notorious for its efforts to combat unionization, unions in other countries are far more common than in the US. Workers at the company’s Coventry warehouse are going on strike over Amazon’s proposed 50 pence an hour raise.

    According to UPI News, Amazon’s employees were asking for a raise that would bring their pay on par with US workers. The UK workers currently are paid $12.90 an hour, but were requesting $18.50 an hour.

    “Amazon workers in Coventry are set to make history on 25 January, becoming the first ever Amazon workers in the UK to go on strike,” said Amanda Gearing, GMB Senior Organiser.

    “They’ve shown they’re willing to put themselves on the line to fighting for what’s right. But people working for one of the most valuable companies in the world shouldn’t have to threaten strike action just to win a wage they can live on.

    “GMB urges Amazon UK bosses to give workers a proper pay rise and avoid industrial action altogether.”

    The strike began January 25, and will last for 24 hours. The union will extend the strike if Amazon refuses to negotiate.

  • UK Blocks Chinese Takeover of Its Largest Semiconductor Plant

    UK Blocks Chinese Takeover of Its Largest Semiconductor Plant

    The UK government is ordering a Dutch company to divest itself of a Welsh semiconductor plant over national security concerns revolving around China.

    Dutch company Nexperia is owned by Wingtech, a Chinese company that is partially state-backed, according to CNBC. Nexperia, in turn, owns Welsh semiconductor firm Newport Wafer Fab. Nexperia owned a mere 10% stake in Newport Wafer Fab prior to July 2021 but ended up purchasing the remaining shares then, making it the sole owner of the Welsh company.

    The UK government is concerned about the deal because of Nexperia’s ties to China. Chinese tech companies have increasingly come under scrutiny over concerns about their potential role in spying and surveillance. Under Chinese law, all companies are required to cooperate with Beijing’s surveillance efforts. Some companies, especially those with very close ties to Beijing, like Huawei, have already been blacklisted around the world over these concerns.

    Given the importance of semiconductors, the UK government is taking no chances with Newport Wafer Fab’s ownership.

    “The order has the effect of requiring Nexperia BV to sell at least 86% of NNL within a specified period and by following a specified process,” the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said in a statement.

    “We welcome foreign trade & investment that supports growth and jobs,” Grant Shapps, minister for business, energy and industrial strategy, tweeted Wednesday. “But where we identify a risk to national security we will act decisively.”

  • Amazon Facing $1 Billion UK Lawsuit for Unfairly Promoting Its Own Products

    Amazon Facing $1 Billion UK Lawsuit for Unfairly Promoting Its Own Products

    Amazon is facing a massive lawsuit in the UK over claims it unfairly favors and promotes its own products.

    Gatekeeper companies that sell their own products and services, while also providing a means for competitors to do the same, are coming under increased scrutiny. Apple and Amazon are two such companies that have both been accused of unfairly favoring their own products over those of the other companies that sell via their platforms.

    According to Reuters, Amazon is facing a $1 billion lawsuit in the UK over such accusations. The case is being brought by consumer rights advocate Julie Hunter.

    “Far from being a recommendation based on price or quality, the Buy Box favours products sold by Amazon itself, or by retailers who pay Amazon for handling their logistics,” Hunter said in a statement. “Other sellers, however good their offers might be, are effectively shut out.”

    Amazon has disputed the merits of the case:

    “This claim is without merit and we’re confident that will become clear through the legal process,” a company spokesperson said.

  • Britain Ramping Up Anti-Competition Scrutiny; Targeting Cloud Market Next

    Britain Ramping Up Anti-Competition Scrutiny; Targeting Cloud Market Next

    Britain is planning to ramp up its anti-competition scrutiny, looking at the world’s top cloud providers.

    AWS, Microsoft, and Google are the top three cloud providers in the world, accounting for roughly 81% of cloud revenue, according to Reuters. Britain’s communication regulator wants to take a look at these so-called cloud “hyperscalers.”

    It’s not surprising the UK is taking a look at the cloud market. UK’s regulatory authorities have already taken a tougher stance on Big Tech than the US. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is challenging Microsoft’s Activision deal. The UK has also blocked Meta’s purchase of Giphy and is part of suit against Google that could see the search giant on the hook for a record €25 billion.

    According to Reuters, the UK has no plans to stop with an investigation of the cloud market. Messaging services, connected TVs, smart speakers, and other digital markets are next on the agenda.

  • Atlassian Leaving London for the US

    London, and the UK in general, suffered a stinging blow as tech company Atlassian is moving its headquarters to Delaware, USA.

    London has been working to establish itself as a tech hub and attract top companies. Despite its efforts, according to TechCrunch Atlassian began looking at a move to the US to make it easier to access investors, ultimately deciding to take the plunge.

    The UK has grown increasingly concerned about its reliance on other countries for tech and has taken steps to secure its tech independence. As one example, the government was concerned about Nvidia’s attempt to purchase Arm and the implication of having the UK’s most successful chip maker under US control.

    The UK is stepping up its efforts to bring in tech companies, with former Chancellor Rishi Sunak telling London Tech Week: “If you’re an entrepreneur looking for funding – I want you to look at the UK and say: that’s where I want to be.”

    Unfortunately for London and the UK, it looks like there’s still work to do if the powers that be want to retain, let alone attract, tech companies.

  • Dell Is Testing 4-Day Workweeks in Europe

    Dell Is Testing 4-Day Workweeks in Europe

    Dell is aggressively investigating the viability of 4-day workweeks, launching a major trial in the UK and now the Netherlands.

    Companies large and small are facing challenges getting employees back to the office after more than two years of working remotely. In some cases, employers have offered various perks, or tried a hybrid approach to make in-office more appealing. According to The Register, Dell was already slated to test a 4-day workweek in the UK, but is now adding the Netherlands to its test-case.

    “On April 1 we welcomed our first starter, and we’re currently in the late phases of the interviewing process with [another],” said Isabel Moll, general manager Dell Netherlands. “We’re hoping to welcome many other candidates in the near future, once the word spreads more and more.”

    Should Dell’s test work out, it’s a safe bet other companies will take note and adopt similar strategies.

  • UK Will Require Tech Firms to Verify User Identity When Posting Online

    UK Will Require Tech Firms to Verify User Identity When Posting Online

    The UK is preparing to implement its Online Safety Bill, including provisions that will require tech firms to combat online trolls with ID verification.

    The nature of the internet has often been at odds with societal good. By design, the internet was built around anonymity. In recent years, however, that anonymity has come under increasing scrutiny as online harassment and trolls have become a major issue. The issue has especially come into focus as anonymous accounts have been used to spread misinformation, often with far-reaching consequences.

    The UK wants to address that issue by stripping away that anonymity and requiring tech companies to verify user identities, according to CNBC.

    “Tech firms have a responsibility to stop anonymous trolls polluting their platforms,” U.K. Digital Minister Nadine Dorries said in a statement Friday.

    “People will now have more control over who can contact them and be able to stop the tidal wave of hate served up to them by rogue algorithms.”

    Needless to say, online platforms are not happy with the UK’s plans. Many online platforms, civil rights groups, and privacy advocates view anonymity as an important element to preserving people’s safety and privacy, especially against oppressive regimes.

    The Online Safety Bill doesn’t specify how tech companies should implement ID verification, leaving them leeway to find the method that best fits. Some of the potential options include facial recognition, two-factor authentication, or verification with some form of government ID.

  • Livability Rates Lexington, KY a Top 100 Place to Live

    Livability Rates Lexington, KY a Top 100 Place to Live

    Lexington, KY may be known for bluegrass, bourbon, thoroughbreds and UK sports, but it is also in the top 100 best places to live.

    Livability, in partnership with Ipsos, conducted a survey of 1,000 adults across the US to determine what makes up the most desirable traits in a community. The company then ranked over 1,000 cities, ranging from 20,000 to 1,000,000 inhabitants, using 50 different data points.

    Lexington, KY came in at 57 on the list, driven by its dynamic nature and strong entrepreneurial ecosystem. Another major factor is Lexington’s central location, being within a day’s drive of two-thirds of the US population.

    “This year’s list is a testament to loving where you live, in a time where more of us than ever can live anywhere we want,” says Cara Sanders, Livability.com managing editor. “These past two years have shown us how important it is that the places we live meet our needs and offer up affordability, opportunity and plenty of amenities. If we can work from anywhere, then these 100 cities are places you would want to live and make remote workers’ needs a top priority.”

  • Brexit May Have Cost the UK an Intel Factory

    Brexit May Have Cost the UK an Intel Factory

    Intel has ruled out the possibility of building a factory in the UK, thanks to Brexit.

    Chipmakers and governments are looking to expand semiconductor production outside of Asia. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the danger of having the bulk of the world’s chip supplies coming from a single region. As early lockdowns impacted production, companies around the world struggled to meet demand for laptops, tablets and phones. Multiple industries are still dealing with a semiconductor shortage that had its start in those initial weeks.

    Multiple companies, including Intel, have been opening new foundries outside of Asia in an effort to better insulate production. In addition to two new foundries in the US, Intel has been looking to open a new factory in Europe.

    CEO Pat Gelsinger ruled out any chance of a UK factory, attributing the decision to Brexit, according to BBC.

    The “UK would have been a site that we would have considered,” Gelsinger said, before adding, “Post-Brexit… we’re looking at EU countries and getting support from the EU”.

    Economists and experts warned that Brexit could cost the UK business. Intel is one of the most high-profile examples of that prediction coming true.

  • ’AUKUS’ — Australia, UK, US Form Security Partnership to Counter China

    ’AUKUS’ — Australia, UK, US Form Security Partnership to Counter China

    Australia, the UK and US have formed a new security partnership in an effort to better counter China.

    Dubbed AUKUS, the partnership between the three countries is aimed at improving cyber capabilities, AI, quantum technologies and other undersea capabilities. The US and UK are interested in helping the Royal Australian Navy acquire nuclear-powered submarines. The arrangement does not mean Australia will become a full-fledged nuclear power, as Australia reaffirmed its commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and not pursuing nuclear weapons.

    Despite the limited scope of the arrangement, a senior US administration official highlighted the advantages of nuclear-powered submarines:

    I do want to underscore that this will give Australia the capability for their submarines to basically — to deploy for longer periods. They’re quieter. They’re much more capable. They will allow us to sustain and to improve deterrence across the Indo-Pacific. 

    The official also highlighted the significance of sharing such technology with Australia, technology the US has only previously shared with the UK.

    I just want to underscore that this is a fundamental decision — fundamental — that binds decisively Australia to the United States and Great Britain for generations. 

    While China was not specifically mentioned in the briefing, sources told Politico the agreement was, at least in part, to counter China’s growing military power.

  • University of Kentucky Discloses Large Data Breach

    University of Kentucky Discloses Large Data Breach

    The University of Kentucky has sent out a letter disclosing a data breach impacting some 355,000 individuals.

    UK discovered the issue during an annual cybersecurity penetration test. The breach occurred in June 2021, impacting the College of Education database, part of the university’s Digital Driver License (DDL) platform. The DDL is used by K-12 schools and other colleges, both in and outside of Kentucky, for online training and test-taking.

    UK says the database contained usernames (usually a person’s email) and passwords for some 355,000 individuals, although the university says it contained no other personal information, minimizing potential identity theft concerns.

    “The University of Kentucky has spent more than $13 million on cybersecurity in last five years alone,” said Brian Nichols, UK’s chief information officer. “We have increased cybersecurity investments and enhanced our mitigation efforts in recent years, which enabled us to discover this incident during our annual inspection process conducted by an outside entity. Although the potential for identity theft is limited, we take this incident seriously and it is unacceptable to us. As a result, we will be taking additional measures to provide even more protection going forward. UK’s chief concern is end user privacy and protection and we are making every effort to secure end user data.”

    You can read UK’s full disclosure letter, contributed by The Record, here.

    The DDL’s primary purpose is to provide free online teaching and test-taking capabilities to K-12 schools and colleges in Kentucky and other US states. The platform is also used by the university for some of its own test-taking capabilities.

    The DDL breach was discovered in early June when the university carried out scheduled penetration tests of its platforms with the help of a third party.

    The test uncovered a vulnerability in the DDL platform, which when the university investigated further it discovered that it had been exploited earlier in the year.

  • Huawei May Be Pivoting to Electric Vehicles

    Huawei May Be Pivoting to Electric Vehicles

    After suffering devastating losses as a result of US sanctions, Huawei may be preparing to pivot to electric vehicles.

    Huawei quickly found itself a target of the Trump administration, amid claims the company represented a national security threat. While all Chinese firms are required to cooperate with Beijing, Huawei was widely believed to have unusually close ties with the government and intelligence community. As a result, the Trump administration banned the company from participating in US networks, and there is no indication the Biden administration will reverse those measures.

    Other countries have followed suit, including the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. Multiple governments and intelligence agencies have joined the US in branding Huawei a threat.

    The bans and sanction have taken a toll on the company, once an almost unstoppable force in the tech industry. Sanctions against the company have even resulted in it selling its Honor line of smartphones and cutting production of its flagship line, due to not being able to buy enough semiconductors.

    According to Reuters, the company is now exploring a strategic shift to electric vehicle manufacturing as a result of the challenges it’s facing. Reuters sources say the company is preparing to make electric vehicles under its own brand, and the first models could arrive as soon as this year.

    A company spokesman denied the claims, although the denial left plenty of room for interpretation.

    “Huawei is not a car manufacturer. However through ICT (information and communications technology), we aim to be a digital car-oriented and new-added components provider, enabling car OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to build better vehicles.”

  • UK Court Blocks Epic’s Case Against Apple

    UK Court Blocks Epic’s Case Against Apple

    The UK antitrust tribunal has blocked Epic from pursuing its case against Apple — over how the App Store and in-app payments work — in the UK.

    Epic sparked a confrontation with Apple and Google when it tried bypassing both companies’ in-app purchasing rules and the two removed Fortnite from their app stores. Epic filed lawsuits, first against Apple, claiming Apple harmed its business by banning Fortnite from the App Store.

    In her initial ruling, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers pointed out that Epic can’t argue it was harmed by Apple’s actions when it was Epic that started the problem by breaking its agreement with Apple and then crying foul. The company could have challenged Apple in court, and then collected back damages if it prevailed. By breaking its agreement first, Epic looks to have intentionally created a fake crisis specifically to take advantage of the situation.

    It appears UK courts want no part of the dispute, ruling that Epic will not be able to pursue its case in the UK, according to Reuters. The UK tribunal did not exclude Epic’s against Google, but believes the US is the best jurisdiction to handle the Apple case.

    The ruling is the latest victory in challenges against Apple and Google’s app stores, after the North Dakota legislature voted against a bill that would have required the companies to support third-party app stores and payment systems.

  • Starlink Internet Service Expanding to the UK

    Starlink Internet Service Expanding to the UK

    Elon Musk’s second company has hit a major milestone, expanding its Starlink internet service to the UK, its first international market.

    Starlink is a satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit that provides internet access. Unlike previous incarnations of satellite internet, Starlink’s low-Earth orbit allows it provide speeds and latency that are competitive with traditional broadband. In fact, early adopters are reporting speeds in excess of 150 Mbps download, more than 30 Mbps upload and latency in the 30s.

    With a successful beta test in the US and Canada, Starlink has now been approved for use in the UK, with the first kits already reaching people’s homes, according to Business Insider.

    Philip Hall, a resident of rural Devon in southwest England was only getting 0.5 Mbps with his previous internet service. After receiving the Starlink equipment, he’s now averaging 85 Mbps.

    “Within the hour we ran a Zoom quiz with grandchildren — it was wonderful,” he told BI.

    The company has also received approval for Greece, Germany, and Australia. If people continue to see the results initial adopters are seeing, Starlink could be a game-changer for rural and underserved communities.

  • UK Watchdog Investigating Nvidia’s Purchase of Arm Holdings

    UK Watchdog Investigating Nvidia’s Purchase of Arm Holdings

    Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is launching an investigation into Nvidia’s acquisition of Arm Holdings.

    Arm Holdings is the UK’s most successful tech firm, and is at the center of the semiconductor industry. The company’s chip designs are used in iPhones, iPads, Macs, Android phones, servers and more. The company is, along with AMD, responsible for Intel’s fall as the world’s dominant chipmaker.

    Nvidia and Arm made headlines in September when it was announced Nvidia would acquire Arm for $40 billion. The announcement was greeted with skepticism and denunciation from many corners of Britain, as well as the the industry, with Arm’s co-founder calling the deal an “absolute disaster.” In addition to the 3,000 UK jobs at stake, many are worried about the possibility of Arm’s neutrality being corrupted.

    Arm doesn’t manufacturer any of its own chips, unlike Intel and AMD. Instead, it licenses its designs to companies throughout the tech industry, who then manufacture chips based on those designs. As such, Arm is the chipmaking equivalent of Switzerland, working with everyone and excluding no one. Many industry experts are concerned that may change under Nvidia, a company that has a vested interest in preventing competitors from using Arm’s designs to gain any advantage over it.

    In addition, with the ongoing nationalization of technology — as evidenced by the US cutting off China-based Huawei from its chip suppliers — there is concern within the UK of their premier tech company being under the control of a US-based company.

    These concerns have now culminated in the CMA launching an investigation, according to The Guardian. As part of their investigation, the CMA is calling “for interested parties to submit views on the contentious deal before the launch of a formal investigation later this year.”

    It remains to be seen how the CMA will rule. However, given the stakes for the British tech industry, as well as the tech industry at large, it seems likely the CMA may seek to block the deal.

  • Huawei Willing to Meet Any Demand From Swedish Government

    Huawei Willing to Meet Any Demand From Swedish Government

    Huawei has signaled it is willing to meet any demand the Swedish government may impose to avoid being banned from the country’s 5G networks.

    Huawei is under increased pressure globally as multiple countries implement bans and restrictions on the Chinese telecoms firm. While the US originally spearheaded the campaign to isolate and restrict Huawei, claiming the company poses a national security threat, other countries have arrived at the same conclusion.

    Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Romania have banned Huawei from their networks, while the UK implemented a ban under pressure from the US. Sweden implemented a ban of their own, on both Huawei and ZTE, over the same kind of concerns the US has cited. Huawei challenged the ban in court and won a temporary reprieve, as the courts ordered the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority to delay its spectrum auction to allow more time for the matter to be resolved.

    Huawei is determined to get back in Sweden’s good graces, and is willing to do whatever it takes according to Reuters.

    “We are even willing to meet extraordinary requirements, such as setting up test facilities for our equipment in Sweden, for example, if they want to,” Kenneth Fredriksen, Huawei’s Executive Vice President, Central East Europe and Nordic Region, told Reuters.

    “We are now in the middle of the court process, but we are willing to have pragmatic discussions.”

    It remains to be seen if Huawei’s overtures will be successful, especially since Sweden’s ban was based on analysis by the country’s military and security experts.

  • UK Bans Huawei Equipment Installation Starting September

    UK Bans Huawei Equipment Installation Starting September

    UK has announced carriers must stop installing Huawei equipment by September 2021, as it ramps up its ban.

    Despite US pressure, the UK initially resisted calls to ban Chinese firm Huawei from its 5G networks. Eventually, however, the UK government reversed course, ruling that all Huawei equipment must be removed from the country’s 5G networks by the end of 2027. Companies had been prohibited from purchasing new equipment after the end of 2020, however. Despite that, lawmakers were concerned companies would stockpile equipment before the purchasing deadline, allowing them to continue using it until the ban went into full effect at the end of 2027.

    To help prevent that from happening, the UK government has now said telecom carriers may not install any new Huawei equipment after September 2021.

    “Today I am setting out a clear path for the complete removal of high risk vendors from our 5G networks,” said Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden. “This will be done through new and unprecedented powers to identify and ban telecoms equipment which poses a threat to our national security.”

    Secretary Dowden also emphasized the importance of no longer being dependent on just a few vendors.

    “We are also publishing a new strategy to make sure we are never again dependent on a handful of telecoms vendors for the smooth and secure running of our networks. Our plans will spark a wave of innovation in the design of our future mobile networks.”

  • Google Sued For $3 Billion in the UK Over YouTube Privacy

    Google Sued For $3 Billion in the UK Over YouTube Privacy

    Google is being sued for $3 billion in the UK over allegations that YouTube tracks children, violating the UK’s privacy laws.

    Google has been facing ongoing scrutiny over privacy and antitrust concerns, but this latest lawsuit could be one of its most expensive. The lawsuit was brought by Duncan McCann, a father of three. The lawsuit is supported by Foxglove, a tech advocacy group in the UK.

    The lawsuit alleges that YouTube and Google are ignoring UK privacy laws designed to protect children. Instead, according to the lawsuit, YouTube is harvesting data from children watching videos and using that data to target the children with ads specifically designed to influence young minds.

    “We think its unlawful because YouTube processes the data of every child who uses the service – including kids under 13,” writes Foxglove. “They profit from this data, as they are paid by advertisers to place targeted advertising on their YouTube website. They do all this without getting explicit consent from the children’s parents. Under the GDPR and UK law, corporations can’t process the data of kids under 13 *at all* without explicit parental consent. Parents haven’t agreed to the many ways YouTube takes kids’ data.”

    The lawsuit comes as Google is facing other lawsuits claiming it continues to track users even after they opt out. Should McCann win his case, the repercussions for Google and YouTube would be profound.

  • 6 Ways to Achieve Great Employee and Customer Engagement

    6 Ways to Achieve Great Employee and Customer Engagement

    There are six things that you need to think about with employee engagement and customer engagement says Andrew McMillan, a renowned customer experience expert based in the U.K. “The most important thing is what you do for each other is actually what you do for customers.”

    Andrew McMillan, a leading customer experience expert, recently discussed customer engagement strategies at the London Business Forum:

    Customer Experience is Simple

    For me, customer experience is simple. I think the first part is to know who you are as a business and to know what your personality is going to be. Friendly, kind, thoughtful, helpful, or forward thinking? What’s the personality of your brand? Then come up with some attributes and behaviors that are going to enhance that personality. That’s what you then start to try and recruit in terms of your employees.

    How You Treat Employees is How Employees Treat Customers

    The most important thing, I think I learned from John Lewis, was actually what you do for each other is what you do for customers. Create that working environment for your employees so they find their managers are friendly, thoughtful, and kind to them. I believe then, it’s just a leap of faith but I proved a ton time again, that they will then be friendly, thoughtful, and kind to their customers.

    What is Your Companies Vision?

    The North Star, some people will call it visions and some people call it purpose. It’s just why do we exist? Why should anybody care about this? Why should anyone want to do any business with us? John Lewis’s was a bit of a strange one actually. The purpose in 1929 was to have an organization where employees were happy.

    So these can be really highly aspirational and lofty or they can be very very simple. But having something there, the idea is that people come to work inspired and having a sense of purpose.

    John Lewis Partnership – Vision

    6 Ways to Achieve Employee and Customer Engagement

    There are six things that you need to think about with employee engagement and customer engagement:

    1. The first one is to define what your personality is going to be in terms of behavior and attitude. It can be friendly, kind, thoughtful, whatever you want to be as a business.
    2. The second one is to measure that and measure it with employee surveys and customer surveys. This is inside-out. This is what you do for your employees and what you hope they’ll do for customers.
    3. The third thing is to communicate it. Communicate it at inception. Then continue to tell stories about people who’ve lived up to those behaviors and attitudes to see what it’s done for customers and what it’s done for them to bring it to life, so people can see what it looks like.
    4. The fourth thing is leadership. That’s probably one of the biggest things I see that’s lacking in organizations. There should be leaders modeling the behavior that we talked about and then actually coaching it in their team’s to encourage them to deliver that behavior for each other and for their customers.
    5. The fifth thing is HR really. It’s a Reward Recognition Appraisal to make sure those are links to not just the outcomes people achieve but the alignment with the behavior with which they achieve those outcomes. So it’s about how they do things, not just what they do.
    6. Finally, the sixth part is the recruitment. If you’ve done the first five really effectively and really built a cohesive network around those first five, you’ve got a great blueprint for exactly the sort of personality and individual you want to recruit into your business.
  • China Says There Will Be a Cost For the UK’s Huawei Decision

    China Says There Will Be a Cost For the UK’s Huawei Decision

    China has expressed its disappointment in the UK’s decision to ban Huawei and said there will be a cost.

    The UK initially decided to allow Huawei to participate in its 5G networks in a limited role, despite US pressure to ban the Chinese firm. US officials have accused Huawei of being a threat to security. Even though the UK did not initially ban Huawei, it implemented rules to keep the company’s equipment away from sensitive locations, such as nuclear sites and military bases. In addition, Huawei equipment could not be used on the core network and could not comprise more than 35% of the network.

    After increased pressure, including sanctions that cut Huawei off from chipmaker TSMC, the UK reversed its decision. According to the BBC, China has wasted no time expressing its displeasure.

    “The UK side has used groundless risks as an excuse to co-operate with the United States… violating the relevant commitments made by the UK,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

    “Any decisions and actions must come at a cost,” she added.

    Given the UK and China’s trade relationship, further escalation could hurt both countries. Only time will tell what Ms Hua meant, and what any “cost” might entail.

  • UK Reverses Course, Bans Huawei

    UK Reverses Course, Bans Huawei

    In an about-face, the UK has announced it is instituting a complete ban of Huawei equipment from its networks.

    The US has engaged in a campaign to gets its allies to ban Huawei, as it has done. There are widespread concerns about national security risks, as Huawei has much closer ties to Chinese intelligence than many firms. As a result, it is believed the company is a spying and surveillance threat.

    Initially, the UK had opted to include Huawei in its networks, albeit in a lesser role. The company’s equipment was restricted from the more sensitive core network, and could comprise no more than 35% of the UKs’ 5G equipment. In addition, no Huawei equipment could be used near nuclear sites or military bases.

    Even that compromise solution was not popular, however, with both US officials and many in Prime Minister Johnson’s own party urging Downing Street to reconsider. Adding further pressure, the US has been ramping up restrictions on Huawei, including cutting it off from one of its main chip suppliers, TSMC.

    It appears the combination of factors have led the UK to reverse course, as it has announced a total ban on Huawei equipment. According to the government’s statement:

    “Huawei will be completely removed from the UK’s 5G networks by the end of 2027, the government has announced, following new advice produced by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on the impact of US sanctions against the telecommunications vendor.

    “Ahead of this there will be a total ban on the purchase of any new 5G kit after 31 December 2020.”

    This is sure to hurt Huawei, as the UK was one of the first countries in Europe to welcome the Chinese firm years ago. It also remains to be seen what repercussions there will be, as China has a history of threatening countries over Huawei.