Huawei made a concerted effort to establish a partnership with the U.K. government and continue as a telecom equipment supplier. However, a combination of shoddy software, the U.S. ban on Huawei, and a realization of the geopolitical consequences of allowing Huawei to participate in the 5G build-out sealed Huawei's fate in the U.K. The Chinese government's reaction validates that the U.K. decision-makers were right to worry about their dependence on a Chinese company.
As of 2022, the U.K. has four major mobile operators: O2, E.E., Vodafone, and Three [Wiki1].
In 2020, O2 was the only operator that did not use Huawei equipment in its mobile network, relying on Nokia and Ericsson instead. E.E. deployed equipment from Huawei, Nokia, and Ericsson Vodafone used Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, and Cisco. Three built its network with Huawei, Nokia, and Samsung [LR2020].
- 2001: Huawei opens its first office in the U.K. [Huawei1]
- November 2010: Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) was established in the U.K. to mitigate perceived risks arising from the involvement of Huawei in parts of the U.K.'s critical infrastructure [UK2020]
- 2014: HCSEC Oversight Board was established to provide an annual assessment of HCSEC's capabilities and security of Huawei's products, independently from Huawei Headquarters in China [HCSEC2020]
- March 2015: HCSEC Oversight Board validates that HCSEC can operate independently from Huawei China's influence [HCSEC2015]
- 2016, 2017: HCSEC Oversight Board reiterates HCSEC independence from Huawei China [HCSEC2016], [HCSEC2017]
- July 2018: HCSEC Oversight Board identifies shortcomings in Huawei's engineering practices; the Oversight Board provides (only) limited assurance that risks from Huawei to U.K.'s critical networks have been sufficiently mitigated [HCSEC2018]
- January 2019: U.S. Department of Justice files criminal charges against Huawei in the U.S. [CNET2019]
- March 2019: The HCSEC Oversight Board continues to be able to provide only limited assurance that the long-term security risks can be managed in the Huawei equipment currently deployed in the U.K.; No material progress has been made on the security issues raised in the HCSEC 2018 report; [HCSEC2019]
- April 2019: U.K. government considers disallowing Huawei equipment from mobile operator's 5G "core," but allowing Huawei equipment at the edge of these networks [FW2019]
- May 2019: U.S. government prohibits transactions between Huawei and other U.S. entities on National Security grounds using an executive order; order affects Huawei hardware component and operating system suppliers [CNET2019-2]
- July 2019: U.K. government delays decision on Huawei's participation in 5G networks on account of U.S. ban on component sales to Huawei and pending change in U.K. prime ministership [Guardian2019]
- January 2020: U.K. government allows Huawei to participate in 5G network build-out (at the edge) but caps Huawei market share at 35% for all four major mobile operators; However, the U.K. government also declares Huawei, a high-risk vendor
- March 2020: New U.S. law prohibits U.S. based rural carriers from using Huawei equipment [CNET2020]
- May 2020: U.S. government extends 2019 executive order restricting transactions with Huawei by another year [CNET2020-2]
- July 2020: U.K. government reverses decision on Huawei; disallows Huawei from mobile operators' 5G networks quoting the impact of U.S. restrictions on Huawei's stability as vendor [Guardian2020-2]
- September 2020: The HCSEC Oversight Board repeats "limited assurance of security" guidance from 2019 [HCSEC2020]
Three items jump out in the timeline above.
First, both Huawei and the U.K. government spent substantial effort setting up a structure (HCSEC) that allowed Huawei to participate in U.K. mobile networks.
Second, the U.K. parted company from the U.S. in 2019, allowing Huawei to participate in the 5G build-out, even though the HCSEC oversight board had indicated Huawei's software had numerous problems.
Third, the U.K. banned Huawei only when it appeared that the U.S. ban on Huawei would make Huawei a less reliable supplier.
Huawei correctly pointed out that the U.K.'s actions seemed to use Huawei's reliability as an excuse to ban Huawei [AH2020]. Perhaps, the U.K.'s real reason was that the decision-makers finally understood the long-term threat from retaining Huawei as a supplier.
However, the Chinese government's reaction to the ban is instructive. A Chinese foreign affairs spokesperson said, "China strongly opposes Britain's decision ... the decision was driven by the politicization of commercial and technological issues and not by national security" [Reuters2020-1], [Reuters2020-2]. The reaction reinforces Huawei's role as a state-directed enterprise rather than an independent private company.
[Wiki1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_network_operators_of_Europe#United_Kingdom
[Huawei1]: https://www.huawei.com/uk/facts/huawei-uk
[HCSEC2015]: Annual Report. HUAWEI CYBER SECURITY EVALUATION CENTRE (HCSEC) OVERSIGHT BOARD. March 2015. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416878/HCSEC_Report.pdf
[HCSEC2016]: Annual Report. HUAWEI CYBER SECURITY EVALUATION CENTRE (HCSEC) OVERSIGHT BOARD. May 2016. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525761/huawei_cyber_security_evaluation_centre_oversight_board_2nd_annual_report_2016.pdf
[HCSEC2017]: Annual Report. HUAWEI CYBER SECURITY EVALUATION CENTRE (HCSEC) OVERSIGHT BOARD. April 2017. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/626110/20170413_HCSEC_Oversight_Board_Report_2017_-_FINAL.pdf
[HCSEC2018]: Annual Report. HUAWEI CYBER SECURITY EVALUATION CENTRE (HCSEC) OVERSIGHT BOARD. July 2018. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/727415/20180717_HCSEC_Oversight_Board_Report_2018_-_FINAL.pdf
[HCSEC2019]: Annual Report. HUAWEI CYBER SECURITY EVALUATION CENTRE (HCSEC) OVERSIGHT BOARD. March 2019. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/790270/HCSEC_OversightBoardReport-2019.pdf
[HCSEC2020]: Annual Report. HUAWEI CYBER SECURITY EVALUATION CENTRE (HCSEC) OVERSIGHT BOARD. September 2020. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/923309/Huawei_Cyber_Security_Evaluation_Centre__HCSEC__Oversight_Board-_annual_report_2020.pdf
[FW2019]: U.K.’s Theresa May will ban Huawei from 5G network cores. FierceWireless. April 24, 2019. https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/uk-s-theresa-may-will-ban-huawei-from-5g-network-cores
[Guardian2019]: Government delays decision on whether to restrict Huawei. The Guardian. July 22, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jul/22/government-delays-decision-on-whether-to-restrict-huawei-5g
[Guardian2020]: UK Huawei decision appears to avert row with US. The Guardian. January 28, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jan/28/boris-johnson-gives-green-light-for-huawei-5g-infrastructure-role
[Guardian2020-2]: Boris Johnson now has 'sound reasons' to keep Huawei out of UK 5G. The Guardian. July 5, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jul/05/boris-johnson-now-has-sound-reasons-to-keep-huawei-out-of-uk-5g
[CNET2019]: US hammers Huawei with 23 indictments for alleged trade secret theft, fraud. CNET. January 29, 2019. https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/us-hammers-huawei-with-23-indictments-for-alleged-trade-secret-theft-fraud/
[CNET2019-2]: Huawei says Trump's ban will hurt US 5G deployment. CNET. May 16, 2019. https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/trump-effectively-bans-huawei-with-national-security-order/
[CNET2020]: Trump signs law barring rural carriers from using Huawei gear. CNET. March 13, 2020. https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/trump-signs-law-barring-rural-carriers-from-using-huawei-gear/
[CNET2020-2]: Trump executive order targeting Huawei gets extended for another year. CNET. May 15, 2020. https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/trump-extends-executive-order-targeting-huawei-for-another-year-temporary-license/
[LR2020]: Huawei avoidance strategy is paying off for UK's O2. LightReading. June 11, 2020. https://www.lightreading.com/5g/huawei-avoidance-strategy-is-paying-off-for-uks-o2/d/d-id/761639
[Reuters2020-1]: China warns UK: 'Dumping' Huawei will cost you. Reuters. July 15, 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-huawei-trump-idUSKCN24G0LF
[Reuters2020-2]: China says it will act to protect its interests after UK Huawei ban. Reuters. July 15, 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-huawei-china/china-says-it-will-act-to-protect-its-interests-after-uk-huawei-ban-idUSKCN24G0RW
[AH2020]: UK Officials Bans Huawei 5G Equipment, Plan Complete Removal By 2027. Android Headlines. July 14, 2020. https://www.androidheadlines.com/2020/07/uk-officials-bans-huawei-5g-equipment-complete-removal-2027.html
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