In May, the United States introduced a series of measures to cut off Chinese company Huawei Technologies from global chip suppliers. Washington sees the telecommunications company as a threat to national security.
Huawei itself then announced last week that it was running out of smart phone chips as a result of US sanctions. The company will be forced to stop production of its own Kirin chips next month due to sanctions, said the head of Huawei’s consumer division Richard Yu, according to the AP agency.
Yu said Huawei will stop producing its Kirin chips on September 15. These chips are made for the company by suppliers who need American production technology. “It’s a really big loss for us,” Yu told China Info 100. “Unfortunately, as part of the second round of US sanctions, our chip manufacturers only accepted orders until May 15th. Production will stop on September 15, “he added.
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In this situation, Huawei cannot manufacture the chips itself, so it will be forced to obtain them from other manufacturers, such as MediaTek (Taiwan), Samsung (South Korea) or Qualcomm (USA), the GSMAren server warned, referring to The Wall Street Journal. And this is just a possible opportunity / loss for Qualcomm.
Speaking to the US authorities, the company said that Huawei was negotiating a partnership with MediaTek for 5G phones. If Qualcomm were out of the game, it could spend about eight billion dollars (almost 177 billion crowns) a year. His representatives are convinced that the Chinese will find their supplier or their suppliers, despite the restrictions imposed by the United States.
The two technology giants, Qualcomm and Huawei, have worked together and continue to work together. Qualcomm provides chips for Huawei lower and middle class phones. However, the Chinese have never used Qualcomm products for their high-end smartphones, GSMArena added.
Britain has already banned Huawei in the construction of 5G
The Americans also strongly oppose Huawei at the interstate level. Here they have already achieved clear and probably long-term successes.
British government in July banned local mobile operatorsto use the technologies of the Chinese company Huawei Technologies after the construction of fifth generation (5G) networks after 31 December this year. This was announced at a meeting of the National Security Council by Minister Oliver Dowden, who is also responsible for digitization.
It was a radical change in the British approach. In January this year, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson decided, despite the demands of US President Donald Trump, that Huawei could participate in the construction of 5G networks to a limited extent.
The reason for the change in British policy may be the impact of US sanctions on chip technology. London says the move will affect Huawei’s ability to remain a reliable supplier in the future.
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Romania’s conditions rule out Huawei
Last week, the Romanian government unveiled a bill that will be used to select a company to build a 5G network in the country. It states that those companies over which the foreign government has control and which do not have a transparent ownership structure, which have a history of unethical corporate conduct or which are not subject to an independent judiciary in their home country will not be addressed.
According to the Balkan Insight portal, it is Huawei that is disqualifying the proposal because it does not meet at least two of these conditions: it is on the United States sanctions list for unethical behavior, and there is no question of the independence of the Chinese judiciary.
The Czechia has not yet decided
Last year, the Czech National Office for Cyber and Information Security (NÚKIB) also warned against the use of Huawei’s software and hardware. The Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (YES) then read to the office that the warning surprised the government, it was not supported by evidence and the office did not consult with anyone. The head of NÚKIB, Dušan Navrátil, was removed from the head of office within a year. NÚKIB has not yet given an opinion on how to approach Huawei technology in the Czech Republic.
In April, the Senate asked the government to clarify its position on the issue of the involvement of Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in the implementation of 5G communication networks in the country. The Senate adopted this resolution when it addressed the European Commission’s communication on the secure deployment of 5G networks. “This is a set of measures of the European Union to mitigate security risks associated with 5G networks,” described the then material Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlíček (for YES).
Germany is still looking for a political decision
In July, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer noted that the federal republic had yet to make a political decision on whether to allow Chinese telecommunications company Huawei to participate in building the infrastructure of its mobile service providers.
German counterintelligence recently warned customers against providing personal data to Chinese payment companies or other technology and Internet companies. According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the data, as civilian counterintelligence is officially called, could end up in the hands of the Chinese government.
By 2028, France will de facto eliminate Huawei from 5G networks
In July, the French authorities informed telecommunications operators planning to purchase Chinese equipment for Huawei’s fifth-generation (5G) networks that it would not be possible to renew the license for these devices after their expiration. Sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. They added that, given the period of validity of the permit, this essentially means the gradual exclusion of Huawei from the French 5G networks by 2028.
The French Cyber Security Agency (ANSSI) said this month that it would allow operators to use 5G devices from Huawei and other companies under permits issued for three to eight years. However, it also called on operators who do not yet use Huawei to avoid using it.
Two of the four French operators – Bouygues Telecom and SFR – are already cooperating with Huawei. State-controlled Orange has chosen European competitors from a Chinese company, Nokia and Ericsson. Orange said at the end of July that it would probably cut off ties to Huawei in Poland and Belgium.
Italy has not yet taken a position
Italy is still considering excluding Huawei from building its 5G network, La Repubblica said in July, citing its sources. However, despite pressure from Washington, Rome has not yet officially excluded a Chinese company from its infrastructure plans.
Italian government officials did not respond to the paper’s questions. Only a source close to the government said that the whole matter is still being discussed at the government level. However, according to the paper, the Italian cabinet is going to change course, like many of its European partners. “The scales are now tilting” to the detriment of Huawei.
Reuters said other European countries, notably Germany, would now be under even more pressure to follow the US, the UK, Australia and other nations in cutting off Huawei from 5G networks.
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