Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements for interoperability will be put in place for the use of Huawei equipment in the 5G network and any related systems.

Interoperability will be one of the three strands of the strategy that the Government is developing to help diversify the supply chain. This will entail the deployment of all the tools at the Government’s disposal. The strategy has three main strands:

• Attracting established vendors who are not currently present in the UK;

• Supporting the emergence of new, disruptive entrants to the supply chain; and

• Promoting the adoption of open, interoperable standards that will reduce barriers to entry.

In addition, the Government’s 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme provides an opportunity to support architectural models that open-up the radio access network, allowing operators to use different vendors for different components of the radio access network.