EE abandons launch of Huawei 5G phones amid US ban

EE abandons launch of Huawei 5G phones amid US ban

EE has abandoned plans to launch Huawei phones as part of its 5G roll out, just days after Google said it would restrict the Chinese company from using its Android operating system.

Britain’s largest mobile phone network will be launching its 5G services next week, but, according to The Financial Times, it will not be offering Huawei phones as it had first intended. 

It said it did not have the “surety of service” it needed to offer long term contract.

"We’ve had to hold that back," Marc Allera, EE chief executive said. EE will still be selling Samsung and OnePlus 5G mobile devices.

5G technology is the next generation of mobile network and is expected to offer internet speeds several times that of current generation 4G.

EE said it will initially launch in six cities: London, Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester, with more to follow before the end of the year and into 2020.

It said it planned to reach 1,500 sites by the end of 2019, including the "busiest parts" of Bristol, Coventry, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield.

O2, however, has confirmed that it will continue to stock Huawei 5G phones despite security concerns. 

The news comes just hours after two Japanese carriers postponed the release of Huawei handsets, due to take place later this week, to allow them time to "confirm if our customers will be able to use the equipment with a sense of safety".

Huawei has come under mounting pressure over the past week in its smartphone business, which up until now has been largely unaffected by difficulties in its telecoms network arm. 

Earlier this week, Google delivered a blow to the Chinese company, saying it would be forced to block updates to popular apps and security updates due to a US executive order – something which would effectively render the phones dumb. 

The US government later softened its approach, offering Silicon Valley firms a temporary reprieve from the restrictions which allowed Huawei phones to continue to run on a licenced version of Android.

However, signs emerged that US companies were already taking steps to protect their operations, with Microsoft appearing to have stopped selling Huawei's laptops, which use Windows software, from its stores.

Microsoft has said it has nothing to share over its relationship with Huawei. 

Originally Posted On
Telegraph.com