U.S. Lawmakers, Huawei, and the Future of 5G Technology

Huawei is the largest producer of the equipment used in 5G technology. Moreover, the Chinese tech giant is one of the major producers of smartphones. However, there are certain challenges as well.

One of the biggest challenges if not the biggest is the U.S. government and its attitude towards Huawei. Importantly, America’s biggest problem with Huawei is its close relationship with the Chinese government. Critics believe the company allows China to spy on companies and officials.

As a reminder, last year U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order to ban new Huawei gear from the U.S. communications networks.

Moreover, the Federal Communications Commission decided to cut off subsidies to rural wireless networks due to national security risks. For example, rural wireless networks won’t be able to receive funding from the federal government to acquire the equipment produced by Huawei.

The U.S. Congress passed legislation to fund equipment replacements due to the risks associated with Huawei.

Last year, Congress also passed the Secure and Trusted Communications Network Act. The Senate also approved this act. Currently, the Senate is awaiting President Trump’s signature.

U.S. Senate, Huawei, and other 5G equipment manufacturers

At the Senate Commerce Committee’s hearing, executives from Nokia and Ericcson addressed the U.S. lawmakers. According to the security head for Ericcson’s Network Product Solutions, his company’s products are the best in the world. Moreover, Ericcson is ready to meet the demand when it comes to producing the equipment for U.S. networks.

Michael Murphy works for Nokia. Murphy believes that equipment produced by Nokia is at the same level as equipment produced by Huawei.

It won’t be easy to replace Huawei but thanks to the current situation, Nokia and Ericsson have the chance to find new customers.