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European 5G Telecom Network Security Requires Exclusion of Chinese Firms - Pompeo

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Chinese telecom companies should be banned from 5G networks of the United States’ European allies, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday after failing to persuade the United Kingdom to reverse a decision to allow Huawei to supply equipment for some non-sensitive applications.
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"We call on our European allies and partners to implement the EU recommendations by adopting strong, risk-based security measures [that] exclude high-risk suppliers from all parts of their 5G networks", Pompeo said, according to a State Department press release.

The United States has taken steps to secure its own 5G network by banning untrusted suppliers, such as the Chinese telecom giants Huawei and ZTE, Pompeo said during a visit to the United Kingdom, according to the release.

"Our actions are in line with the EU’s assessment that 5G suppliers headquartered in countries without democratic checks and balances may pose an unacceptable security risk", Pompeo said.

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The US secretary of state said in an interview with LBC radio earlier that the United States is disappointed with the UK decision to allow some Huawei equipment in non-sensitive networks, albeit with limits.

"Our view of the technology and of the data is that putting this Chinese technology inside of these systems is something that is very difficult to mitigate", Pompeo said, adding that "the United Kingdom came to a slightly different conclusion".

Huawei featured prominently in Pompeo’s meetings with senior UK officials this week, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, according to the State Department.

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