UK to toughen rules on Huawei

Bloomberg

Britain is set to toughen the rules under which Huawei Technologies Co operates in the country while stopping short of an outright ban on the Chinese telecom equipment maker, according to people familiar with the matter.
The measures, designed to address concerns that Chinese intelligence could use Huawei’s systems to spy on other countries, are expected to involve closer state oversight and may restrict the vendor from some sensitive parts of the UK’s telecom networks, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks are confidential.
The results of a six-month review of Britain’s telecom supply chain were submitted to the National Security Council chaired by PM Theresa May. Officials will spend coming days working through the details before announcing a final decision. May’s office declined to comment on a Telegraph report that she had decided to allow Huawei to build parts of the new generation of wireless networks known as 5G.
Western allies are watching. Britain has monitored Shenzhen-based Huawei’s systems closely for several years, while allowing it to become a major supplier of UK communications infrastructure. Huawei denies that its equipment is vulnerable to state espionage.
“We welcome reports that the UK government is moving towards allowing Huawei to help build the UK’s 5G networks,” a Huawei spokesman said in an email. “While we await a formal government announcement, we will continue to work cooperatively with the government and the industry.”