US president was reportedly furious about PM’s decision to use Chinese 5G expertise
Downing Street has sought to play down the significance of a difficult phone call between Donald Trump and Boris Johnson over the UK’s decision to allow Chinese company Huawei to help build its 5G network.
Trump was reported by the FT to have been “apoplectic” about the decision taken by Johnson, and the phone call last week was said by one official to have been “very difficult” and tense.
Continue reading...Move will cost €200m over five years but have limited financial impact on UK operations
Vodafone is to remove Huawei equipment from the sensitive, core parts of its mobile networks across Europe at a cost of €200m (£169m) over the next five years.
The group, which has 111 million customers across Europe, has taken the decision after the UK government’s move last week to limit the use of Huawei equipment in the country’s 5G network.
Continue reading...Telecoms group faces big bill for stripping out banned kit from 5G broadband network
Limiting the use of Huawei equipment in BT’s EE 5G mobile and full-fibre broadband networks will cost the telecoms group £500m over the next five years.
BT uses more Huawei equipment in the masts and towers of its mobile network than is allowed under new government rules, meaning it will now have to be stripped out and replaced with hardware from other manufacturers.
Continue reading...US discusses concerns over Chinese telecoms giant’s role in Britain’s future 5G network
Donald Trump discussed the security of telecommunications networks with Boris Johnson, the White House said, as Britain closes in on a decision on Huawei’s role in the country’s future 5G network.
The US administration told allies not to allow the Chinese tech giant to form part of their 5G networks, claiming it would be a security risk – something Huawei vehemently denies.
Continue reading...Teoh, who despite running one of Australia’s largest telcos has managed to maintain anonymity, runs gauntlet of media
Finally, the reclusive billionaire emerged. David Teoh, estimated to be worth $3bn, made his debut before the cameras on a fine spring day outside the federal court in Melbourne on Wednesday.
As he stepped into the witness stand shortly after 3pm, Teoh gave away the extraordinary level of anonymity he’d been able to maintain even while running one of Australia’s biggest telecommunications companies, TPG.
Continue reading...Tributes pour in for head of Safaricom, who helped east Africa pioneer cashless payments long before Apple Pay
Bob Collymore, the chief executive of east Africa’s largest and most profitable mobile network operator Safaricom, died on Monday aged 61, after a two-year battle with cancer.
Tributes poured in from across east Africa for the Guyana-born British businessman, who steered Safaricom through nearly a decade of innovative expansion during which its user base doubled and profits increased 380%, turning it into a $10.8bn company. According to the company’s most recent annual report, Safaricom’s business contributed 6.5% to Kenya’s total GDP in 2018.
Continue reading...Finance ministers say Europe is increasingly dependent on Chinese and US technology
It boasts the world’s second biggest economy, a huge consumer market of about 500 million people and prodigious pools of talent and capital, not to mention two of the world’s most important financial centres.
But Europe is struggling to match its great rivals, the US and China, in creating the kind of global firms that increasingly dominate the 21st-century marketplace.
Continue reading...Britain faces lobbying after Chinese firm wins approval to supply 5G network
Donald Trump’s administration is expected to put further pressure on the UK to reconsider the decision to allow Chinese telecoms company Huawei to help build parts of the UK’s 5G telecoms network.
The US has arranged for a representative from the state department, which has repeatedly warned of the risks of using Huawei, to give a briefing on Monday.
Continue reading...Ren Zhengfei hits back at criminal indictments he calls politically motivated
The US cannot crush Huawei, the company’s founder has insisted, as he hit back against criminal indictments levelled at the firm and allegations that it poses a security threat.
Washington has warned allies off using Huawei products in recent weeks. But Ren Zhengfei, whose daughter Meng Wanzhou – a fellow senior Huawei executive – is among those charged by US prosecutors, told the BBC on Monday that the firm would survive the pressure.
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