The 5G revolution – at least that’s what we’re being told – is under way. Vodafone has switched on two weeks after EE did the same, with seven cities at first, 12 more to follow later this year. Of course, it means both companies also switched Huawei on.
While the government has dithered, and leaked, and dithered some more, the industry has had to get on with the work of getting the thing going. The controversial Chinese company won’t be involved in any of the core networks, per government orders. But its equipment is still in the “radio access networks”. That’s the masts to you and me. Not all of them. There are Ericsson and Nokia masts out there too. But some of them. At least for now.
Under Theresa May, the National Security Council decided this would be OK, notwithstanding the objections of some ministers (hence the leak). But, of course, Theresa May isn’t going to be prime minister for much longer. Before you breathe a sigh of relief, look at the alternatives who are currently engaged in making Jeremy Corbyn look like Ebenezer Scrooge.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
From
15p
€0.18
$0.18
USD 0.27
a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.
1/10 No deal, no tariffs
The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers
Getty
2/10 Fingerprint payment
NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user’s fingerprint
NatWest/PA Wire
3/10 Mahabis bust
High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019
Mahabis
4/10 Costa Cola
Coca-Cola has paid £3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant
PA
5/10 RIP Payday Loans
A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain’s biggest, went into administration on August 30
PA
6/10 Musk irks investors and directors
Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks
Getty
7/10 Jaguar warning
Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a “bad” Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks
AFP/Getty
8/10 Spotif-IPO
Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn’t issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify’s private investors will be sold
AFP/Getty
9/10 French blue passports
The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rue’s contract ends in July.
The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process.
10/10 Beast from the east economic impact
The Beast from the East wiped £4m off of Flybe’s revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airline’s estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.
1/10 No deal, no tariffs
The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers
Getty
2/10 Fingerprint payment
NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user’s fingerprint
NatWest/PA Wire
3/10 Mahabis bust
High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019
Mahabis
4/10 Costa Cola
Coca-Cola has paid £3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant
PA
5/10 RIP Payday Loans
A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain’s biggest, went into administration on August 30
PA
6/10 Musk irks investors and directors
Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks
Getty
7/10 Jaguar warning
Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a “bad” Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks
AFP/Getty
8/10 Spotif-IPO
Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn’t issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify’s private investors will be sold
AFP/Getty
9/10 French blue passports
The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rue’s contract ends in July.
The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process.
10/10 Beast from the east economic impact
The Beast from the East wiped £4m off of Flybe’s revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airline’s estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.
What no one disputes is that Huawei’s tech is good. I’m also told its people are very responsive. They’re much better at producing “bespoke” kit – stuff customised to what an individual telecommunications company wants – than their rivals. If those companies ask for something, chances are that a bevy of researchers will be called in to find a way. The downside of this is that all its gear all looks a bit different, which makes it hard to assess for the security people.
But what about those security concerns we keep hearing about? The telecommunications firms haven’t found anything they’re worried about, and they have looked. Those charged with making an independent assessment have found flaws in the tech, but to date nothing that would indicate nefarious intent.
The real problem is, of course, the politics. There’s an awful lot of politics about right now. Here’s where it gets icky. When I last looked at this issue I made the point that taking Huawei out would make 5G more expensive. Instead of simply building on top of the existing 4G tech, telecommunications firms would have to tear it out and start again from scratch where the company is involved.
That’s bad enough. Now think through the implications with the networks live. That super-duper whizz-bang service you were expecting might be less super-duper whizz-bang than you were told it would be if there are engineers crawling all over the masts pulling stuff out, replacing it, testing it, testing it again…
The point I made about prices still stands. That goes without saying. But maybe you can relax and start racking up eliminations on Fortnite or downloading Stranger Things from Netflix through your 5G phone when you’re out of the range of your home broadband and want something to watch on the train.
Donald Trump made some gentler noises about Huawei over the weekend after the US and the Chinese talked trade. Maybe the political climate is easing?
Both Jeremy Hunt and Alexander (that’s his real first name) Boris Johnson want to be the US president’s BFF. Security concerns about the Chinese company’s tech, real or imagined, are of far less concern to them than the latest tweets from the man in the White House. Remember that when one or the other of them starts banging on about liberating Britain from dastardly federalists in Brussels.
There’s a band called The The that once did a song called “Heartland”. “This is the 51st state of the USA,” goes the chorus. You should stream it on your 5G phone through one of those Huawei-powered masts. What Washington sees as in its best interests will ultimately decide for how long you’ll be able to listen to the song.
