The U.K. government has asked Japan to help in the deployment of 5G networks in the country, according to a report by Nikkei Asian Review.
The request came after the U.K. government last week decided to ban Chinese vendor Huawei Technologies from supplying 5G equipment to U.K telcos.
Under the new ban, Huawei’s gear will be completely removed from the country’s 5G networks by the end of 2027, following new recommendations by the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) on the impact of U.S. sanctions against the telecommunications vendor, that restrict Huawei’s ability to use U.S. chipmaking equipment and software to design and manufacture its semiconductors abroad. The U.K. government also confirmed that it will also implement a total ban on the purchase of new Huawei equipment for 5G.
According to the report, British officials told their counterparts in Tokyo that Japanese technology companies NEC and Fujitsu may replace Huawei as suppliers and have asked for the Japanese side’s support to enhance the network’s technology and cost-efficiency.
The U.K. is aiming to have Japanese companies compete with other telecoms companies such as Ericsson and Nokia to boost the 5G ecosystem in the country.
A source from NEC told Nikkei that the company is already “in discussions” with the British side, while a source from Fujitsu said it is seeking opportunities to sell its products in Europe.
The Japanese government has already decided to invest 70 billion yen ($654 million) to support companies such as NEC to develop base station equipment and backbone networks. The funds come from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, an independent administrative agency.
Japanese conglomerate Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT) recently announced that it will take a 5% stake in compatriot electronics company NEC as part of an agreement to foster the development of 5G technology in Japan.
The agreement, estimated at 60 billion yen ($562 million), will make NTT the third-largest shareholder in NEC.
The two companies are expected to work on equipment for 5G core networks. Under the terms of the deal, NEC also will collaborate on NTT’s proposed Innovative Optical and Wireless Network, or IOWN, high-speed broadband infrastructure.
NTT and NEC plan to make a joint effort at expanding their presence in the global market for wireless communications networks and will promote cooperation on developing future communication technologies beyond 5G
NEC also expects to use the agreement to accelerate its expansion overseas.
NEC recently inked a deal with Japanese mobile network operator Rakuten Mobile, a subsidiary of Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, to jointly develop the containerized standalone (SA) 5G core network (5GC) to be used in Rakuten Mobile’s fully virtualized cloud native 5G network.
Under the terms of the agreement, Rakuten Mobile and NEC will jointly develop the containerized SA 5G mobile core to be made available on the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP).
In March, NEC started to ship the first 5G radio unit it produced under a development partnership with Rakuten Mobile.
