UK bans installation of Huawei 5G equipment from September

One key measure is a ban on the installation of Huawei equipment in 5G networks from Sept. 30, 2021. Carriers will, however, be allowed to maintain Huawei equipment installed before this date.

Meanwhile, the U.K. is also set to spend £250 million ($333 million) to help diversify its 5G supply chain. The government is creating a National Telecoms Lab research facility and funding a trial with Japan’s NEC to develop innovative open radio technology for 5G.

“Today I am setting out a clear path for the complete removal of high risk vendors from our 5G networks,” Dowden said in a statement Monday.

“This will be done through new and unprecedented powers to identify and ban telecoms equipment which poses a threat to our national security.”

Huawei declined to comment when contacted by CNBC. The firm has already warned of the economic damage the U.K. ban would inflict, claiming it could delay the rollout of high-speed 5G internet in the country by a number of years.

British lawmakers will debate the new Telecommunications Security Bill — which encompasses the new rules on Huawei — at a second reading in Parliament on Monday.