New cyber-security laws will add significant fines for telecoms giants who fail to implement strict security requirements.
One of the biggest telecoms stories of the year has been the ongoing battle over whether to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to supply technology for the UK 5G network. The question was raised after the US issued a blanket ban on US firms working with the Chinese firm on grounds that it could be legally compelled to spy on US telecoms by the Chinese government.
The UK decided to follow suit and ordered a ban on new Huawei's tech being added to the 5G network, with plans to phase out existing Huawei technology. That decision is now being put into law with the Telecommunications Security Bill this week, which both bans the company from being involved in the UK's 5G network and puts new security requirements on telecoms firms.
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The new bill allows the government to give instructions to major telecoms firms in the UK such as BT about which vendors they can use under the interest of national security. Firms that fail to meet deadlines on removing banned tech from their networks will face significant fines of up to 10% of their turnover or £100,000 per day.
The new law will give telecoms regulator Ofcom the power to inspect and enforce the new rules and ensure firms are removing Huawei tech by appointed deadlines. The ultimate goal is the complete removal of Huawei tech from the entire 5G network by 2027. The draft law will now have to be passed by parliament before it comes into effect.
Source: BBC News
