The arson attacks against 5G masts in the UK have become serious enough that carriers are joining together to put a stop to the incidents. EE, O2, Three and Vodafone have issued a joint statement both urging people not to set fire to cellular masts, threaten engineers or spread conspiracy theories falsely linking 5G to COVID-19. The networks also encouraged people to report abuse of engineers and call out people spreading misinformation.

As the companies reiterated, cell networks are critical in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. They provide “essential connectivity” to emergency services and the National Health Service, help connect families and enable remote education. The arson has disrupted “critical infrastructure,” the carriers said, and threats to engineers have “prevented essential network maintenance.”

Telecoms will have to provide “alternative methods of communication” if the outbreak prevents repairs to landlines. They’ll likewise have to ensure customers are “treated fairly” if they have a hard time paying their bills.

ISPs have already made some accommodations of their own, but this should ensure a consistent level of service across these larger companies. Not that there was necessarily much choice. Many of those still employed now have to work from home, and the internet is likely to be a key source of entertainment. While that sudden shift is putting added strain on networks, allowing business as usual could have led to widespread disconnections and overage charges at the worst possible time.

You can get the equipment the next day for free, but Three will bring it to you the same day for £20 ($24).

This isn’t the mobile 5G service you might have hoped for, although Three recently said it would deploy the next-gen wireless service in 25 UK cities by the end of 2019. It also stressed that mobile users wouldn’t pay extra for 5G, as with rivals like Vodafone. Really, Three’s advantages are its low cost and its large 100MHz chunk of 5G spectrum. It’s hoping that you’ll not only be tempted away from wired broadband, but that its network will have enough real-world capacity to live up to 5G’s potential.

The companies are all believed to be using Huawei technology in the “non-core” elements of their networks. That would be in line with the UK government’s rumored strategy, but they’re still gambling that officials won’t take a stricter attitude and issue an outright ban on Huawei networking gear.

There might be reasons to take a chance on Huawei, apart from the lack of publicly available evidence of surveillance. Assembly’s Matthew Howett noted that reliance on a single supplier for a cellular network is dangerous. A major failure in Ericsson equipment left O2 users without 3G and LTE service for a full day — if everyone had been using similar hardware, the UK as a whole might have suffered the same problem. It might also delay launches by as much as two years, Howett said. Like it or not, Huawei could be useful in helping some countries offer 5G in a timely and reliable fashion.