BT’s EE Launches 5G Test Network in London using Huawei Equipment
BT-owned mobile operator EE has launched a 5G test network in Canary Wharf, London ahead of a full commercial rollout next year. As the cUK’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, the launch by EE is a landmark moment in the UK’s path to 5G.
Fotis Karonis, 5G Technology Lead at BT Group, said:
“This is the latest milestone in our 5G rollout – a live test of our 5G network, in a hugely busy ‘hotspot’, where we know there’s going to be demand from customers for increased mobile capacity.
With constant upgrades to 4G, and laying the foundations for 5G, we’re working to always be able to deliver what our customers need – both consumers and the vertical industries that will make the greatest use of 5G.
We were UK pioneers with 4G and today we saw the UK’s first live connections on 5G – this is a huge step forward for our digital infrastructure.”
EE announced it would be launching the 5G network back in June, promising it to be the UK’s first proper test. Some expected mobile operator O2 to beat it after plans to launch its own test bed at the O2 Arena, but EE was first to market.
The current network covers Montgomery Square in Canary Wharf and was selected by EE for its high footfall and data usage. Some 150,000 people visit the square each day, providing a better test of how the network will perform in high traffic areas.
Mark Nallen, Head of Technology and Innovation at Canary Wharf Group, commented:
“Staying at the forefront of connectivity and new technologies is critical to our community, and that’s why we’re partnering with BT Group to support delivery of 5G.
The consumers who live and work here will benefit from being better connected, and the enterprises based here will have the chance to partner with BT Group to understand the full capabilities of 5G.”
The equipment at the site will also be hooked up to a lab core network, which functions as a replica of EE’s commercial core network, and will link up to other test sites as and when they come online. Walling it off also means that it’s possible to test 5G in whatever ways are necessary without having any impact on existing services.
Another testbed is set to launch in Shoreditch later this year, which will present different challenges to the Montgomery Square tests. Mainly because it isn’t as ‘clean’ an area. Exactly when it will happen isn’t clear yet.
EE is using network equipment by Huawei for its test; along with 3.4 GHz spectrum it won in regulator Ofcom’s auction earlier this year. The use of Huawei’s equipment continues to be a controversial subject.
In Europe, Huawei is relatively welcome and its highly-regarded equipment used by many operators. Australia, however, recently took the decision to follow the U.S. in banning the Chinese vendor’s equipment over national security concerns.
The U.S. and Australia are part of the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence sharing partnership which also includes the UK, Canada, and New Zealand. The US is said to be pressuring its partners to follow suit.
Last month, Canadian security officials went on record to say the country has the necessary safeguards in place not to follow the bans of the US and Australia. Canada is attempting to make the case to its partners that excluding telecoms equipment manufacturers leads to an increased security risk. If a specific vendor’s equipment is compromised, it would represent a larger proportion of the network.
Rather than ban Huawei, the UK and Canada have both established labs where security officials test equipment for potential vulnerabilities.
Testing equipment rather than banning seems to be a more sensible approach. This week, India announced it would be testing Huawei 5G gear. Competition is good for prices and innovation, while bans would prevent companies such as EE from accessing potentially class-leading equipment.
References:
https://www.telecomstechnews.com/news/2018/oct/05/ee-uk-5g-network-test-launch/
http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2018/10/ees-turned-on-its-5g-trial-in-the-canary-warf-area/
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UK warns telecoms groups to check security of 5G suppliers
he UK has warned its telecoms companies to consider their suppliers carefully as they build 5G networks, in a move that industry figures said was targeted at Huawei, the Chinese equipment maker.
Matthew Gould, the head of digital policy at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Ciaran Martin, the head of the National Cyber Security Centre, wrote to several telecoms companies warning them that their 5G supply chain may be affected by a review of the UK’s telecoms infrastructure that was launched in July.
The letter said the review aimed to ensure that Britain’s “critical national infrastructure remains resilient and secure”.
It did not mention Huawei by name, but said the “outcome of the review may lead to changes in the current rules” and that the companies “will need to take the review into consideration in any procurement decisions”.
Matthew Howett, principal analyst at Assembly Research, a research house that focuses on regulation and policy in the communications market, said: “I doubt we would have seen this if it was Nokia or Ericsson.”
Telecoms executives said the government may be pushing operators to make sure Huawei is only one of a diverse range of suppliers. But they also said it was possible that the Chinese company could be barred from the rollout of 5G in the UK, a move that would delay networks that are due to come online in 2019 and 2020.
Both the US and Australia have blocked Chinese suppliers, including Huawei, on security grounds from being used as telecoms operators begin to build and test the next generation of mobile network.
In April, the NCSC warned telecoms companies not to use China’s ZTE as a supplier because of concerns over the “long-term negative effect on the security of the UK”.
The NCSC added in July that it was concerned over “shortcomings” in Huawei’s engineering processes that expose British telecoms networks to “new risks”, including a cyber attack.
A government spokesperson played down the threat to Huawei, saying: “This is not a binary review of the country of origin of telecoms suppliers. It is about ensuring we have the right overall framework in place to ensure secure and resilient telecoms networks.”
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https://www.ft.com/content/29eb5d28-e10d-11e8-8e70-5e22a430c1ad
BT, via its EE mobile arm, has launched a 5G test network using Huawei equipment in Canary Wharf in east London and Three has signed a deal with the Chinese company to supply 5G radio access equipment. Three took 18 months to select Huawei and kept the NCSC up to date with its plans throughout the process.
Mr Howett said the latest letter had arrived “too late” to be credible.
Any move to ban Huawei would mean UK networks could only realistically use 5G hardware from Nokia, Ericsson or Samsung.
Huawei is seen as a cheaper and more advanced supplier than some of their rivals, said two people with direct knowledge of network equipment procurement plans.
Huawei has been a core part of the UK telecoms supply chain since winning a contract with BT in 2005 and has expanded its footprint across Europe since. The company declined to comment.
https://www.ft.com/content/29eb5d28-e10d-11e8-8e70-5e22a430c1ad
UK and Germany grow wary of Huawei as US turns up pressure-Delegation from Washington warns against using Chinese supplier for 5G networks. US, Australia and New Zealand have already blocked the use of Huawei 5G equipment on national security grounds.
The UK and Germany are growing wary of allowing Huawei, the Chinese telecoms company, to install 5G equipment in their countries after a US delegation visited Europe to urge heightened vigilance against national security threats.
UK security officials on Thursday issued a new public warning to Huawei, saying the Chinese company must fix problems in the equipment it provides to British networks or risk a further deterioration in what is an increasingly strained relationship.
The clear message delivered by the US delegation this month and in online communications is that Germany and the UK as key American allies must safeguard the security of their telecoms networks and supply chains, said people familiar with the situation.
The warnings come as Germany and the UK are preparing for auctions next year for 5G, a superfast service that will enable a new generation of digital products and services. Huawei is the world’s biggest telecoms equipment supplier and has been seen as a frontrunner to build the first networks in both countries, where it has conducted extensive 5G tests.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of the digital intelligence agency GCHQ, said Huawei must fix problems, highlighted in July, that pose “new risks in UK telecommunications networks”.
The issues came to a head in a tense meeting between the board set up to scrutinize Huawei equipment and the Chinese company earlier this month, said government officials and telecoms executives.
“As you might imagine there are some strains in the relationship as we deal with the issues set out in the latest oversight board report,” the spokesperson said. “But we remain committed to working with the company to put it right.”
Banning Huawei outright from providing 5G equipment to UK providers or removing them from existing telecoms networks remains unlikely, officials said. But the message to the Chinese company is clear.
“They are slowing down Huawei to allow the rest of the market to catch up,” said one former intelligence official. “If I was part of oversight board or government, I would be putting the boot in right now.”
UK security officials rejected the suggestion they are hardening their stance in response to growing pressure from the US, insisting the concerns are not based on Huawei’s Chinese origins as a company but on the way the company manufactures software and equipment which makes critical telecoms networks vulnerable to cyber attack.
A spokesperson for Huawei said: “We are grateful for this feedback and committed to addressing these issues. Cyber security remains Huawei’s top priority, and we will continue to actively improve our engineering processes and risk management systems.”
New Zealand this week became the latest country to take action against Huawei, blocking one of its biggest telecoms operators from using Huawei’s 5G equipment. The US and Australia have already blocked the company on national security grounds.
In Germany, officials said the mood in government was growing increasingly wary of Huawei’s potential involvement in building the country’s 5G network. While it is too early to say if Berlin will ban the Chinese company from participating, concerns in some parts of the government, including the foreign and interior ministries, is deepening, officials said.
“The US influence on this has really intensified recently,” said one German official, who requested anonymity.
Cui Haifeng, vice-president of Huawei in west Europe, told the Financial Times in Hamburg that the company was doing everything possible to allay concerns over security. Asked if Germany was set to issue a ban, he said: “So far, I never heard about this kind of thing.”
“[For] every technology for us at Huawei we always try to put the security and safety as top priorities so all the design, products and services will be safe,” Mr Cui said.
Raffaello Pantucci, director of international securities studies at UK think-tank RUSI
“The NCSC has concerns around a range of technical issues and has set out improvements the company must make,” a government spokesperson said. “In the UK, the conversation with regard to China has definitely shifted with the hawks becoming kind of dominant,” Mr Pantucci added.
The main US concern over Huawei equipment is that the company’s ties to the Chinese government could enable snooping or interference. Huawei has strongly denied such charges.
More generally, the US is worried about the potential application of China’s National Intelligence Law, approved in 2017, which states that Chinese “organisations and citizens shall . . . support, co-operate with and collaborate in national intelligence work”. The risk, said US officials, is that this could mean that Chinese companies overseas are called upon to engage in espionage.
https://www.ft.com/content/6719b6b2-f33d-11e8-9623-d7f9881e729f (on line sub required)
BT to strip Huawei from core networks, limit 5G access
https://www.scmp.com/tech/gear/article/2176573/british-telecoms-giant-bt-group-strip-huawei-core-networks-limit-5g-access
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Why the Huawei arrest is a huge problem for U.S.-China trade relations
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/huawei-arrest-huge-problem-u-s-china-trade-relations-134014282.html
What is Huawei, and why the arrest of its CFO matters, By Julia Horowitz, CNN Business
The arrest of a top Huawei executive has roiled the business world and threatens to derail the tenuous trade truce between the United States and China. Experts are warning that what happens with Weng’s case could have huge implications for the broader US-China relationship.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/06/tech/what-is-huawei/index.html
Doors are slamming shut for Huawei around the world
By Charles Riley, CNN Business Updated 5:45 PM ET, Fri December 14, 2018
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/14/business/huawei-deutsche-telekom-orange/index.html
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Trump’s war on Huawei splits Europe
In the new Cold War, Europe is being asked to take sides over China.
https://www.politico.eu/article/telecoms-donald-trump-war-on-huawei-zte-splits-europe/
Thanks for the great article on EE 5G test network using Huawei equipment. Wonder if the UK government will let that network go into production as they are concerned Huawei is a security risk and controlled by China government. I have bookmarked your page so that i can get to learn new things about telecom with your incisive comments and analysis
Keep up the Good Work!!