As Britain decides on 5G, European governments also prepare to grapple with the Huawei conundrum

Britain’s decision on whether to allow Huawei to supply equipment for 5G mobile networks comes at a delicate time, with debate raging in European capitals over the security implications of reliance on Chinese technology.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s preference for applying the same rules to all equipment vendors faces growing resistance from lawmakers in her own party, who back US calls to ban Huawei outright.

Even as Britain prepares to quit the European Union, the finishing touches are still being put on a bloc-wide framework to address risks in networks that will become faster and more ubiquitous in the 5G era.

Europe’s leading telecoms operators, who are all Huawei customers, are lobbying against an outright ban.

At the same time, they are removing the Chinese company’s gear from the “core” of their networks. The core routes traffic and manages data and is thus more sensitive than the peripheral radio network.

Here’s an explainer on the current state of play: