Government to hold talks with Samsung in bid to avoid relying too much on Huawei for 5G technology

HIGH-LEVEL talks with a rival firm to Huawei will be held this week to help provide alternative 5G technology, we can reveal.

Ministers and officials will engage in talks with Samsung to avoid over-reliance on the controversial Chinese firm.

Talks have already taken place with NEC as the government looks to diversify away from Huawei.

Firms who are have been invited to talks include Ericsson, Nokia, Fujitsu, Mavenir and Parallel Wireless.

An emergency Whitehall review is set to report within weeks assessing the impact of new US sanctions on Huawei.

Digital Minister Matt Warman discussed plans with senior industry figures in a call in recent days.

The National Security Council met last week to discuss China in light of the coronavirus outbreak that started in Wuhan.

The probe is being led by the National Cyber Security Centre which is part of the GCHQ intelligence agency.

Boris Johnson backed Huawei’s role in the infrastructure project in January but limited its role to 35 per cent.

It was also forbidden from providing equipment to the network “core”.

But rebel Tory MPs believe giving the limited role to Huawei could help China’s spy efforts in the UK.

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