08 Jun 2020

techUK response to Science and Technology Committee inquiry

techUK welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Science and Technology Select Committee's inquiry into the UK telecommunications infrastructure and the UK’s domestic capability.

The Science and Technology Committee launched an inquiry to understand how telecommunications capacity can be built in the UK. Specifically, the Committee requested evidence on:

what led to the current lack of market competition among telecommunications equipment suppliers and the absence of a domestic supplier in the UK;
what are the major barriers to entry into the UK telecommunications market are and how these could be overcome;
the feasibility of the Government supporting the establishment and growth of a UK-based vendor of 5G equipment;
how the UK can work with international partners (such as the ‘Five Eyes’ countries) to build a domestic capacity;
measures the UK Government could take to encourage additional, established vendors to enter the UK market; and
in what timeframe the Government should look to build domestic capacity and remove all “high risk” vendors.

Members can download our response below.