Telecoms companies that run foul of proposed new security legislation face fines of up to 10% of their annual turnover, or £100,000 a day, under a new law to be laid in Parliament that awards the government “unprecedented” powers to boost the security standards of the UK’s telecoms networks and force the removal of high-risk suppliers, such as Huawei.
If passed, the Telecommunications (Security) Bill will impose new duties on telecoms firms to increase the security of the networks they operate within the UK, and new responsibilities on Ofcom to monitor and assess the security of operators.
“We are investing billions to roll out 5G and gigabit broadband across the country, but the benefits can only be realised if we have full confidence in the security and resilience of our networks,” said digital minister Oliver Dowden.
“This groundbreaking bill will give the UK one of the toughest telecoms security regimes in the world and allow us to take the action necessary to protect our networks.”
The government said its bill will strengthen the cyber security framework for technology used in both 5G and full-fibre broadband networks, including the hardware and…
