The UK has banned Huawei from 'core' parts of its 5G network. The UK announced on Tuesday it would allow Chinese tech firm Huawei to play a limited role in building its 5G networks.
Huawei's response has been simple: it's not a security threat. Most importantly, the company's leaders have said the US has not produced evidence that it works inappropriately with the Chinese government or that it would in the future.
Huawei's response has been simple: it's not a security threat. Most importantly, the company's leaders have said the US has not produced evidence that it works inappropriately with the Chinese government or that it would in the future.
The security debate around Huawei is not new, although it has intensified in recent weeks. Put simply, Huawei is accused of presenting an espionage threat by US security agencies. US security forces have warned Huawei equipment could be used to create a “backdoor” into foreign mobile and data networks.
Huawei has been accused by US intelligence of being funded by Chinese state security, and the UK's National Cyber Security Centre has said the company poses a threat to national security. But this hasn't won over the US administration.
Does that mean Huawei can no longer use Android at all? No. The underlying Android operating system is open source, called the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), and can be used by anyone. AOSP is updated in step with Google's version of Android, on which it is built.
Huawei has stated that its products posed "no greater cybersecurity risk" than those of any other vendor, and that there was no evidence of the U.S. espionage claims. Huawei exited the U.S. market due to these concerns, which had also made U.S. wireless carriers reluctant to sell its products.
All Huawei smartphones, tablets and PCs will continue to receive security patches, Android updates and Microsoft support. All devices continue to be covered by our manufacturer's warranty and will receive full service support accordingly.
Only a few other countries — Japan, Australia and New Zealand — have barred Huawei 5G deals; many world powers remain undecided. American officials cast the race to 5G as a quintessential national security competition, rather than a commercial one.
As of December 12, 2019, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan and the U.S. have decided to ban and phase out the company's products within their mobile networks. Meanwhile, the UK has banned the company from contributing core parts to 5G technology, cutting Huawei's share in the country's new network to 35 percent.
The reason is because Android was created as an open-source project, meaning it belongs to the public domain on the web, free and open for all to use. The ban placed by the US government only stops Huawei using the core part of Google's Mobile Services.
“Google is prohibited from working with Huawei on new device models or providing Google's apps including Gmail, Maps, YouTube, the Play Store and others for preload or download on these devices,” Tristan Ostrowski, legal director for Android and Google Play, wrote in the post, which was picked up by 9to5Google.
Despite ban, you can still buy Huawei phones in the US. Here's how. Even with the turmoil, Huawei's P30 Pro is still available to buy in the US. Owning a Huawei phone in the US became a lot less appealing over the weekend when it was revealed that Google will stop providing Huawei support for its Android phones.
Huawei has stated that its products posed "no greater cybersecurity risk" than those of any other vendor, and that there was no evidence of the U.S. espionage claims. The company had also partnered with British officials to establish a laboratory to audit its products.
The Fuzhou court ruled that Apple infringed two of Qualcomm's patents and granted a requested injunction against the sale of the Apple products that are currently in the market ranging from the iPhone 6S to the iPhone X. This means that Apple is essentially banned from selling all infringing iPhones in China.
It's the reason why the US banned companies from using Huawei networking equipment in 2012 and why the company was added to the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security Entity List in May 2019, following an executive order from President Donald Trump effectively banning Huawei from US communications
Nokia and Ericsson pitch themselves as Huawei 5G alternative. Executives from the companies tell lawmakers they have what it takes to build safe and secure US 5G networks. European telecom equipment providers say they are a safe and secure alternative to gear from Chinese maker Huawei.
The best 5G stocks for investors:
- Xilinx (XLNX)
- Qualcomm (QCOM)
- Ericsson (ERIC)
- Crown Castle (CCI)
- Verizon Communications (VZ)
- Marvell Technology (MRVL)
- Apple (AAPL)
A: No one company or person owns 5G, but there are several companies within the mobile ecosystem that are contributing to bringing 5G to life. Qualcomm has played a major role in inventing the many foundational technologies that drive the industry forward and make up 5G, the next wireless standard.
European firms Nokia and Ericsson are often cited as the largest competitors for manufacturing 5G equipment.
Some of the key players in Global 5G Infrastructure market include Qualcomm, Samsung, Huawei, Verizon Communications, Cisco, AT& T, ZTE, and China Mobile.
The U.S. charges brought against Huawei include industrial sabotage -- something that 5G could allow to happen on a larger scale, according to U.S. officials. But other concerns include the vulnerability of public infrastructure and what might happen in a widespread failure.
5G rollout in the US
Carriers including AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile began deploying it in 2019. Verizon's Vestberg said last year that half the U.S. will have access to 5G by the end of 2020. In 2019 5G was available on only about 1% of phones sold, according to market research firm NPD Group.As mentioned above, Huawei started to develop its own 5G technology as early as in 2009. In 2013, Huawei hired more than 300 top experts from wireless industry around the world and announced that they put $600 million investment in 5G research. In 2016, Huawei set up a 5G product line for 5G products.
Huawei has revealed an updated version of its folding smartphone, which it plans to release outside of China for the first time. It said it had made the screen of the new Mate XS more resilient than the original Mate X, following concerns that folding phones were too easy to damage.
Huawei needs some American innovations, especially Google services used on Android phones, but industry experts say the company is increasingly self-sufficient after spending 485 billion yuan ($65 billion) on research and development over the past decade. “Not only did Huawei not die, it is doing even better.”
