Vodafone says UK ban on Huawei would cost it millions of pounds
British telecoms group responds to US bid to block Chinese technology
LONDON — Vodafone says any move by Britain to bar equipment made by China's Huawei from all parts of new 5G networks would cost it hundreds of millions of pounds and “very significantly” slow down the deployment of the new technology. The US asked allies not to use Huawei's technology because it could be a vehicle for Chinese spy operations, an accusation denied by the company. Vodafone, the British telecommunications conglomerate, said last month it had paused the use of Huawei components in its core networks in Europe until governments had assessed the risks. The group's UK chief technology officer Scott Petty said Huawei radio equipment was used in nearly a third of the company's 18,000 UK base stations — a part of the network it gauged to be very low risk. It would also be part of the foundation for 5G technology. Vodafone said it would launch 5G in 19 towns and cities across Britain in 2019, adding 12 more locations to the seven cities that are already live or are soon to be li...
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