Pentagon Blocks Huawei & ZTE Phone Sales on Military Bases
The Pentagon is blocking sales of Huawei and ZTE phones on US military bases across the world, further reducing the access of both companies to sell devices to US customers.
"Huawei and ZTE devices may pose an unacceptable risk to Department's personnel, information and mission," Pentagon spokesman Major Dave Eastburn said in a statement. "In light of this information, it was not prudent for the Department's exchanges to continue selling them to DoD personnel."
The Department of Defense issued the directive on April 25.
"We remain committed to openness and transparency in everything we do and want to be clear that no government has ever asked us to compromise the security or integrity of any of our networks or devices," Huawei said in response in an email reply Thursday. The company stressed that it is an "employee-owned company," and said that it does business in 120 countries.
This latest move by the US government will hit Huawei -- the third-largest smartphone company in the world by market share last year -- the hardest. It is already impossible to buy the vendor's latest phones through the major four US mobile operators. (See Verizon Dropping Huawei Plans, Too – Report and Huawei Still Knocking on US Door – but AT&T Deal Thwarted.)
Retail outlets -- such as Best Buy and Walmart -- only sell the vendor's low-end phones in their stores. Best Buy is supposed to stop selling the phones soon. (See Best Buy to Drop Huawei in Another Blow to US Ambitions – Report.)
The only way to get new models like the P20 Pro smartphone in the US is via the web from Europe, or from eBay.
— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading
