Huawei BINNED from EE’s 5G smartphone line-up because ‘lifetime support’ can’t be guaranteed
Huawei fans are going to be disappointed if they wanted to use the EE 5G network
EE has just announced a start date for its 5G network in the UK but hasn't listed any Huawei phones as being compatible with it.
This is because Huawei is currently dealing with the aftermath of President Trump banning US companies from doing business with them so EE isn't sure about the future of the firm's phones and therefore can't guarantee 5G support at this time.
Super-fast 5G speeds of up to 150Mbps will be available to UK EE customers with certain phones from next week – May 30.
This will make EE the first phone network in Britain to offer 5G.
However, Huawei smartphones were notably omitted from the line-up, likely due to the ongoing US blacklist that prevents Huawei phones from receiving major Android updates.
The smartphones that EE has confirmed will work with its 5G network include the delayed Samsung Galaxy Fold, the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, the Oppo Reno 5G and the LG V50 ThinQ.
5G internet – what is it?
Here’s what you need to know...
- 5G is the next generation of mobile phone networks
- Just like 4G made your mobile internet faster and more reliable compared to 3G, 5G will do the same again
- Phone networks across the UK are currently scrambling to introduce 5G phone speeds for Brits
- Typical 4G speeds today will typically fall between 50Mbps and 100Mbps
- But early 5G speeds will raise this bar to several hundred megabits-per-second
- And once 5G networks are advanced, you’ll expect to enjoy gigabit-per-second speeds
- However, you’ll need to upgrade your phone plan to a 5G tariff
- Also, not all smartphones support 5G internet – they’ll need to have a 5G-ready modem inside
- We’re only now starting to see 5G smartphones in 2019, so older phones won’t support the new speeds
- Many top phone makers have committed to making (or already launched) 5G-ready smartphones
- These include Samsung, Huawei, OnePlus, LG and Oppo
EE said its first 5G plans will start from 10GB at £54 a month, right up to 120GB for £74 a month.
Speaking to reporters at the launch, EE CEO Marc Allera said: “We’ve put the Huawei devices on pause until we’ve got a bit more info on that.
“This is an industry you have to be very adaptive, you have to react to things on a minute-by-minute basis.
“So until we get the information and confidence that gives us a long-term assurance that people who buy those devices will be supported for the lifetime of the device with us.
"That’s a big responsibility with us, so we’ve put those devices on pause.
“When that info changes we’ll hopefully launch them,” he added.
The 5G network will be switched on in London, Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester initially.
The additional sites of Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry and Bristol will be added later on this year.
Will the Huawei blacklist be permanent?
Here's what you need to know...
- Huawei is the world's second-biggest smartphone vendor, just behind Samsung
- So China has a vested interest in the company being successful
- Trump will have targeted Huawei specifically to hurt China in the ongoing US-China trade war
- As such, Huawei is effectively a trade war hostage
- The good news is that this means Huawei may be de-blacklisted once (or if) the trade war is resolved
- It's relatively easy for Google to restore access to services for a firm like Huawei
- It's also possible that future US administrations might decide to de-blacklist Huawei to improve relations with China
- However, growing spying fears over Huawei's alleged close links with the Chinese government may hamper or halt this process
- There's also no indication that the US-China trade war is coming to a close any time soon
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In other news, Vodafone will be switching on its 5G network in seven UK cities on July 3 2019
The new Huawei P30 Pro was recently caught up in a "spying" controversy thanks to its unique 50x super-zoom feature.
And, here's everything you need to know about the Huawei Google ban.
Are you excited for the launch of 5G in the UK? Let us know in the comments...
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