Source · Select Committees · Defence Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Paragraph: 73
Furthermore, whilst the risk remained manageable, it is important to remember the benefits in having...
Conclusion
Furthermore, whilst the risk remained manageable, it is important to remember the benefits in having a greater number of vendors involved in 5G network provision, despite the designation as high-risk, as this improves overall network resilience should a single vendor fail.
Paragraph Reference:
73
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government agrees that the UK market will benefit from a greater number of vendors. We have developed the 5G Supply Chain Diversification Strategy, published on 30 November, to diversify the supply chain. We are talking to a range of suppliers about the barriers they face to entering the UK market and how we can accelerate the realisation of our long-term vision for the telecoms access market. We recognise that there is a need to work at pace to make early progress on diversification. As a first step towards delivering our long-term vision, the Government announced in the National Infrastructure Strategy that it has committed an initial investment of £250 million, to kick off work to deliver our key priorities. Further details are set out in the 5G Supply Chain Diversification Strategy, published on 30 November. We are also exploring ways to incentivise research and development in the UK telecoms sector, such as alternative 5G deployment models, and accelerating the development of ‘interoperable’ equipment—kit which can be used by multiple vendors—and making it standard across the sector. The UK is not alone in facing this problem. We are also working with like-minded international partners to develop new and sustainable supply chain capacity and deliver against our shared goals.