BRITISH telecoms group BT today said it will take a £500 million (RM2.6 billion) hit after the government limited Huawei’s role in developing the country’s 5G network on security grounds.

The cost will be spread over five years, said BT in a statement, as the company must now make changes to its 5G roll-out plans following London’s move against the Chinese titan.

“We are in the process of reviewing the guidance in detail to determine the full impact on our plans, and at this time, estimate an impact of around £500 million over the next five years,” said BT chief executive Philip Jansen.

He said the company welcomes the government’s decision, announced on Tuesday, noting that “the priority should be the security of the UK’s communications infrastructure”.

BT said the move by London will require changes to the firm’s own network.

Meanwhile, the move to grant Huawei access, albeit on a limited scale, has caused a diplomatic spat between Britain and the US, with Washington having pressed for a total ban.

Britain has chosen to exclude Huawei from “core” parts of the network and cap its share of the market at 35%.

However, US officials have said the possibility of China using its commercial presence to spy on Britain – or even shut down the network – could force Washington to stop sharing intelligence with London.

Washington has banned Huawei from the roll-out of its 5G mobile network because of concerns that the firm could ultimately be under the control of Beijing – an allegation it strongly denies.

A total ban requires huge amounts of infrastructure to be ripped out at great expense, while also delaying 5G roll-outs by years, according to analysts.

Unlike the US, Britain has been using Huawei technology in its systems for the past 15 years.

Huawei is widely viewed as providing the most advanced 5G for the super-fast data transfers behind technologies such as self-driving cars and remotely operated factory robots.

A number of UK mobile phone operators, including EE and Vodafone, currently sell 5G services, but these are so far available only in a handful of cities, notably London and Birmingham. – AFP, January 30, 2020.