Huawei Faces Further Heat From US Administration – Report

News Analysis Ray Le Maistre, Editor-in-Chief 11/23/2018

Huawei is once again the security focus of the US administration, which is seeking to persuade international allies to clamp down on the deployment of Huawei communications networking technology in those countries, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The report, which cites sources with knowledge of the move, suggests that the US government is briefing allies such as Japan, Italy and Germany about the alleged security risks of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd equipment being deployed by communications service providers, particularly in countries that host US military bases.

The sources even suggest that the US is offering to financially support the development of telecom sectors in countries that agree to the US administration's requests.

Huawei and ZTE, the other main networking vendor from China, have long been deemed security risks by US politicians, resulting in an effective ban on the deployment of technology from those companies in the US. (See below for previous reporting.)

Security fears related to the use of Chinese technology have emerged in other countries too as network operators start to put their 5G plans into action, though whether such deliberations will result in Huawei and ZTE being locked out of 5G markets is yet to be seen. (See Australia Excludes Huawei, ZTE From 5G Rollouts, No 5G Deal: Huawei Misses Out at SKT and India Joins US & Australia to Give Huawei, ZTE 5G Cold Shoulder – Reports.)

But that hasn't stopped Huawei remaining a global force and the company to catch in terms of telecom business and, in some cases, in terms of reputation: The vendor's President of Carrier Business Group, Ryan Ding, announced at this week's Global Mobile Broadband Forum event in London (organized and hosted by the Chinese giant) that Huawei already has 22 commercial 5G contracts, while a senior executive at BT praised the company's 5G efforts to date. (See BT's McRae: Huawei Is 'the Only True 5G Supplier Right Now' and Huawei Has Shipped 10K 5G Basestations Outside China.)

For more on the Chinese vendors and the US, see:

— Ray Le Maistre, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading