A report on foreign involvement in the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) has been published by the government’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), warning that there could be “implications for national security“ over BT’s deployment of broadband ISP and telecoms equipment supplied by Chinese firm Huawei.

A report on foreign involvement in the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) has been published by the government’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), warning that there could be “implications for national security“ over BT’s deployment of broadband ISP and telecoms equipment supplied by Chinese firm Huawei.

Around the world, countries including the USA & Australia have controversially banned the use of Huawei’s telecoms equipment over concerns that it could be used to spy on domestic communications or for future cyber-attacks. Other countries, including Canada and a few European states, have also raised similar fears. The United Kingdom has embraced Huawei, the Chinese manufacturer of related equipment to BT, O2, TalkTalk, EE and Three UK among others. Huawei was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei (former officer of the People’s Liberation Army), and other Chinese telecoms firms.

BT is responsible for large parts of the UK’s telecommunications infrastructure, following a major £10bn upgrade project (21st Century Network) back in 2003 which involved a considerable contract with Huawei to supply some of the needed transmission and access equipment. At the time BT saw “no need to change [it’s] position” following the forbidding of related equipment elsewhere. BT further commented that they work directly with each of their suppliers to “gain assurance through rigorous review that the security of the network is not compromised“.

The report warns of a possible “conflict between the commercial imperative and national security” and that the committee’s investigation had revealed a “disconnect between the UK’s inward investment policy and its national security policy“. It noted that the government failed to properly investigate and check BT’s contract with Huawei, which some say was partly born out of an understandable need to avoid damaging trade and diplomacy between the two countries.

If you have any concerns over security please feel free to contact a member of our Voice and Data team for more information.

Mark Gamlin
Head of Voice and Data

Share this News

Your privacy

By clicking “Accept all cookies”, you agree ITRM can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

Cookie Settings

When you visit any of our websites, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and manage your preferences. Please note, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.