Vodafone said cutting Huawei-made equipment would cost “billions to a figure” of pounds
London:
Vodafone and BT said they would need a minimum of five years to remove Huawei-made equipment from their UK networks, with Vodafone placing the cost of the operation in the “billion to single digits” range.
Andrea Dona, head of Vodafone UK networks, told a committee of legislators that the operator must have a “reasonable time” of several years to implement any new restrictions from Huawei, with a minimum transition plan. spanning five years.
Rival BT told the same committee that it needed a minimum of five years, and ideally seven years, to remove Huawei from its network.
BT was already trying to pass certain Huawei network sites to other providers, said chief technology officer Howard Watson.
Britain gave Huawei a limited role in its future 5G networks in January, but ministers have since declared that the introduction of U.S. sanctions could have a significant impact on its ability to safely deliver crucial elements of the network equipment.
As a result, Britain is re-examining the role Huawei should play in its telecommunications networks. Huawei told the same committee that it was too early to quantify the impact of the sanctions on its operations, and that no hasty decision should be made.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
