- Google – supplies Android software
- Intel – supplies server chips
- SD Cards – the association dropped it from its member list
- Broadcom – supplies components for network equipment
- Qualcomm – supplies modem chips and CPU for smartphones
- Xilinx – supplies programmable chips for networking devices
- Lumentum Holdings – Supplies mobile parts
- ARM Holdings– Leading mobile chip designer
- Infineon Technologies – supplies chips
- EE Limited – Europe’s largest telecom company
- Vodafone – leading mobile operator in the UK
- Panasonic – Halt supply to check what products belong to the US
It has been bad days for Huawei, the world’s largest producer of networking equipment and the number 2 smartphone brand just behind Samsung and ahead of Apple. The Chinese tech giant is in between a US-China trade dispute, with the Trump administration listing Huawei to the trade blacklist which restricts the company from buying the American components or software and doing business with the other US companies.
Although the commerce department said it’s willing to give a 90-day reprieve that will allow Huawei to continue doing business with the American firms, this ban on the Chinese telecom giant still very much exists. Within hours of the government order, Google went to announce that it would stop licensing its Android mobile OS to Huawei, while other big companies like Intel, Qualcomm and Broadcom reportedly cut supplies of key hardware components that are much needed to make its devices functional.
The SD card association too dropped the smartphone maker from its member list. The Wi-Fi Alliance, whose members include Apple and Qualcomm, said it had “temporarily restricted” Huawei’s membership in the wake of the US ban.
Microsoft too has removed Huawei’s laptops from the online store.
Several other European and Japanese companies soon followed the suit, including the British chipmaker ARM and telecom operators like EE and Vodafone, Japan’s Panasonic and Toshiba. All of these non-US companies have announced that they would end all their business ties with Huawei which has been dubbed as ‘dangerous’ by US President Donald Trump.
Below is the list of some major companies and institutions that have banned the Chinese tech giant:-
Microsoft: The software giant has removed Huawei from one of its websites offering cloud gear, but the software giant still won’t comment on whether it is rescinding Huawei’s license to use Windows.
Vodafone: The company has now paused the deployment of Huawei equipment in the core networks until Western governments give the Chinese firm full security clearance. Vodafone, however, has Huawei as its technology partners in 5G testing in Milan. Vodafone in April 2019 said that it found hidden back doors in Huawei’s technology in 2011 and 2012. The issues were resolved at that time but the revelation further damaged Huawei’s reputation.
Verizon Communications: This telecom giant in early January 2018 dropped all of its plans to sell Huawei phones under pressure from the U.S. government. The move followed AT&T’s decision in early January 2018 not to introduce the Mate 10 Pro to the U.S. market. Huawei devices still work on both the companies’ networks, but direct sales would’ve allowed them to reach more and more consumers than they can through third parties.
EE: A top cyber-security official said that Huawei’s “shoddy” engineering practices might result in mobile network equipment ban in Westminster and other sensitive parts of the UK. Following which, Britain’s biggest mobile operator EE aims to launch the country’s first 5G service in late May 2019, but it will not offer Huawei handsets until the Chinese company’s future is clear following its row with the US.
University of Oxford: The university has already said in January 2018 that it would no longer accept new donations and sponsorships from Huawei to fund researches.
Telus: The Vancouver, a Canada-based telecom provider said that this Huawei equipment ban could delay 5G wireless network rollouts and would raise the deployment costs.
Japan: Japan’s government has effectively banned China’s Huawei and ZTE from the official contracts. Source: Japan Times.
GSMA: Mobile comm. industry body GSMA has asked its members to discuss all the possibility that the very Chinese vendor is excluded from its key markets, in between concerns that such developments could push operators back by years.
Apple: Huawei allegedly pursued information about Apple’s trade secrets. The alleged evidence comes from The Information. Source: The Information, February 18, 2019.
Deutsche Telekom: Europe’s biggest telecommunications company, Deutsche Telekom, has said that if Huawei is banned in Europe, it’s going to delay its deployment of 5G networks by up to two years. To avoid such major setbacks, Deutsche Telekom has suggested a new certification process for mobile network equipment security, that will allow telcos in Germany to continue using products from the Chinese vendors in their upcoming 5G rollout plans.
Cisco Systems: Cisco sued Huawei in 2003, alleging that the China-based company stole Cisco source code to build Huawei network routers. Huawei, however, has denied those claims, and Cisco has ultimately dropped the suit as long as Huawei modified its product line even discontinuing some products.
BT: The Britain telecom service provider will pull Huawei equipment out of its core 4G network by the year 2020 to fit its own internal policy. The move follows reports that the US is trying to persuade foreign allies’ wireless and internet providers to avoid the Chinese company’s equipment, citing cybersecurity risks.
Beside all the drama, Huawei is pinning its hopes on a self-designed operating system (called Hongmeng) to replace Google’s Android following the U.S. blacklisting. Source: The Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2019.
