Clearwire Will Keep Using Huawei

Clearwire LLC (Nasdaq: CLWR) will use Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. equipment as part of a 2013 network upgrade, Reuters reported Friday afternoon.

Considering Clearwire already uses Huawei gear, that wouldn't have been a big deal a month ago. But now, of course, a Congressional committee has declared Huawei a security risk (ZTE Corp. (Shenzhen: 000063; Hong Kong: 0763) too, but that company didn't get profiled on 60 Minutes).

Less than 5 percent of the budget for the Clearwire upgrade will go to Huawei, according to a Clearwire statement provided to Reuters. The statement adds that Clearwire is "materially reducing" Huawei's footprint in the network.

Reuters points out that Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S), which still plans to use Clearwire's network, "provides telecom services to the U.S. government."

Light Reading Mobile asked Clearwire about the Huawei situation just after that report came out. Clearwire's response pointed out that the carrier uses multiple radio-network vendors, including Nokia Networks and Samsung Corp. :

Clearwire employs a multi-vendor approach for our current 4G network. We remain committed to ensuring that our network is safe and secure and that our customers’ data is protected. Among other things, we require each of our infrastructure vendors to submit their equipment and software to extensive testing by a leading third party recognized for vetting critical infrastructure systems for security purposes before incorporating it into our network.

Our core IP network (i.e. the brains of the network) is provided by Cisco. Samsung, Nokia Siemens, as well as Huawei, supply radios at the edge of our network – these radios do not have direct connectivity to the backhaul and core network systems that process and manage our network traffic. Ciena supplies base station switching equipment. DragonWave provides the network’s primary microwave backhaul transport, with Nokia Siemens providing additional microwave backhaul equipment. In addition, Ericsson is responsible for overseeing installation, deployment and day-to-day operation of the network.

We will provide more details on our LTE network vendors at a later date.

For more

• Cisco Piles Pressure on Huawei
• Euronews: UK Spooks Back to Haunt Huawei
• Huawei Responds to U.S. Investigation
• US vs Huawei/ZTE: The Verdict

— Craig Matsumoto, Managing Editor, Light Reading