India in the list of UK’s 5G club plan of 10 democracies

The growing concern over Chinese Telecom Giant Huawei rolling out 5G technology is nothing new. In fact, US President Donald Trump had earlier signed an executive order wherein the federal government can block U.S companies from doing business with companies like this that are a national security threat.

Amid the concerns over Huawei, UK recently proposed to create a 5G club of 10 democracies including the G7 countries. Among them is India to serve as an alternative supplier of 5G equipment and other technologies. The chief objective is to stop relying on Chinese 5G technology.

According to the UK government the initiative was imperative so that there can be new entrants in the 5G market to phase out the use of Huawei technology. Though companies like Nokia and Ericsson are serving as infrastructure suppliers, one of the key challenges that may face is with the price factor – these companies may not be able to provide kit as cheap as the Chinese telecom giant.

The US has banned Huawei from doing any business in the country since it believes the technological capability of the company would be exploited by the Chinese government to serve their interest. Though the company has starkly denied this, the US has been persuading its other allies to prevent its technological presence in the respective countries.

Earlier Britain had allowed Huawei to build up to 35 percent of its 5G infrastructure for a speedy data network, however recently PM Boris Johnson had instructed officials to cut it out of the network by 2023. However experts fear that cutting out the Chinese telecom leader from UK network especially at a time when the country is grappling with economy and seeking new trade partners may prove to be costly.