British Fear Huawei Telecom Parts Shortage Due to US Sanctions

The British National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) urges British operators to have sufficient stock. Especially for Huawei, it fears that the US sanctions may disrupt supply.

According to a letter from the NCSC that Reuters could view, BT and Vodafone, among others, are warned to get their parts stock in order for all manufacturers.

But Huawei is mentioned explicitly because the company is hit by US sanctions, which barely allow it to use US technology.

“The US’s escalating moves against Huawei could impact their ability to provide updates for products with US technology,” the letter said. This includes chips around 5G in network equipment.

Huawei itself says to Reuters that it considers its customers a top priority and that it works with them to ensure that those customers can continue to run.

At the same time, the company says again that it opposes the US politically motivated actions and that many of the US’s claims about espionage are not based on evidence.

Despite the lack of evidence, Huawei is considered a risk player in the UK. However, early this year, the government decided that the company could still participate in 5G networks in the country, either with limited market share and excluded from the core network of telecom players.