Chinese telecoms company Huawei has asked the UK government not to disrupt the firm's role in its 5G network after the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Huawei, any disruption to its involvement in the rollout of the 5G network would do UK "a disservice".
The Chinese telecoms giant was granted by the UK governent a limited role in the establishment of a 5G network in the country in January. However, a backbench rebellion within the Conservative party demonstrates an initiative to overturn the decision.
Huawei wrote in an open letter to the UK government that it is also focusing on keeping people in the country connected amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the pandemic is expected to increase pressure on the government to take a tougher stand on the firm.
Huawei's role in UK 5G
In January, the UK government announced its decision to grant Huawei a limited role in the development of its 5G network. UK authorities decided to exclude from "security critical" areas of Britain’s networks but allow it to supply less sensitive products.
These security critical areas refer to those that identify customers or make decisions about routing traffic.
Despite the exclusion, Huawei will still be able to offer British mobile operators, including Vodafone, BT and Three, less sensitive products such as radio technology and base stations, as long as its market share is limited to 35%.
While the decision will be difficult for the tech company to deal with in the UK and may cause other European countries to follow suit, it is better than the outright ban sought by the US government due to national security concerns.
Berenberg analyst Usman Ghazi said: "It certainly avoids the worst case where they’re told to get out."
Ghazi added that Huawei’s growth may be limited due to the UK restrictions but it may still earn big from the extensive 5G equipment that needs to be installed on thousands of rooftops and towers.
Open letter to the UK
In the letter, Huawei's vice-president Victor Zhang pointed out that home data usage in the country has surged by at least 50% since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, placing "significant pressure" on telecoms systems.
Zhang claims that the company has partnered with BT, Vodafone and EE to address this increase and has also set up three new warehouses around UK to ensure the supply of spare parts.
He also explained that the pandemic highlighted how many people, particularly in rural areas, are "stuck in a digital slow lane" and that excluding the company from a role in 5G would be a mistake.
He wrote: "There are those who choose to continue to attack us without presenting any evidence. Disrupting our involvement in the 5G rollout would do Britain a disservice."
Critics have argued that allowing the Chinese company to play any role at all would be a security risk due to fears that it could be used by the Chinese government to spy on or even sabotage communications.
There were 38 Conservatives MPs who rebelled on the issue in early March, which was a larger number than expected.
