Britain seeking alliance of 10 democracies to break China’s 5G monopoly in wake of coronavirus pandemic – The Sun
BRITAIN is seeking an international alliance to supply Brits with 5G internet and break China's monopoly over the network.
The Government is driving forward plans for 10 democratic countries to work together and find a new provider for the superfast internet.
Ministers want the UK to form a club of nations, dubbed the ‘D10’, to fund technology companies and find a 5G supplier to replace Huawei.
The PM approved plans for the Chinese company to build part of the UK’s new internet network in January, despite pressure from MPs and the US government.
The D10 club would see G7 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – join forces with Australia, South Korea and India to find another company to build the 5G network.
The UK has already approached Washington with the plan, the Times has reported.
A source told the newspaper: “We need new entrants to the market. That was the reason we ended up having to go along with Huawei at the time.”
It comes amid rising tensions between the UK and China, with the Government accusing the Communist state of covering up coronavirus.
Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove said in March that China "was not clear about the scale, the nature, the infectiousness of this disease."
Nokia and Ericsson are the only two companies in Europe that are currently supplying 5G infrastructure, but it is believed they could not build the network as quickly as Huawei.
A review into Huawei’s role in the UK's 5G plans was launched by spy chiefs last week after the US announced sanctions against the Chinese telecoms giant.
US SANCTIONS
The Trump administration recently announced that it was banning the sale of American chips to the Huawei, claiming the company could be exploited by China to conduct surveillance against Western nations.
GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre said it was looking again at the possible security risks.
A government spokesperson said: “The security and resilience of our networks is of paramount importance.
“Following the US announcement of additional sanctions against Huawei, the NCSC is looking carefully at any impact they could have to the UK’s networks.”
Last week, the PM ordered aides to draw up plans to axe China’s involvement in UK internet infrastructure.
Mr Johnson told officials that he wanted China to have no involvement in the British network by 2023.
He has previously called for the UK to become more self-sufficient and less reliant on China for goods.
The Government has come under increasing pressure form the US to ditch the Huawei deal, with the Trump administration threatening to drop Britain's access to intelligence usually shared between the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
The PM has also faced backlash from within his own party, having faced his first Commons rebellion in March over Huawei’s role in the UK’s 5G network.
A powerful group of senior Conservative backbenchers demanded the PM set a time limit to remove its equipment from the network.
Mr Johnson then resisted the calls, instead saying that the telecoms company would only be allowed to supply 35 per cent of the UK’s infrastructure, and that it would be banned from “sensitive locations” such as military or nuclear sites.
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