United Kingdom to Make Decision on Allowing Huawei in 5G Networks in Autumn - Culture Minister

The United States has been pressing London and other allies to opt against granting Huawei access to 5G infrastructure, citing alleged spying and national security risks. China and Huawei have denied the accusations and offered to sign a "no-spy" agreement with the UK.

A decision on whether to allow the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei in 5G networks in the UK will be made in the autumn, according to British Culture Minister Nicky Morgan.

"We will make the right decision for the UK. I would hope we could do something by the autumn", Morgan told BBC radio. "We've got to make sure that this is going to be a decision for the long term, making sure that we keep all our networks secure."

Last week, UK telecoms and mobile provider Three officially launched its 5G ultrafast mobile broadband network in parts of London. The provider predicted that 80% of their network traffic would eventually be covered by 5G within three years.

This comes amid uncertainty in the UK government regarding Huawei's access to British 5G infrastructure.

Neither the previous administration, nor incumbent Prime Minister Johnson has made any definitive decision so far on the tech giant's work in the UK.

The uncertainty was prompted by pressure from the United States, which is pushing for restricting Huawei's access to 5G networks due to alleged links to the governing Communist Party in China, citing espionage and national security risks. Both China and Huawei have vehemently denied the accusations.