Various reports circulating in the media referencing 5G and Huawei ...
May 25 2019
- Chinese Dump iPhones, Switch to Domestic Huawei Devices Amid US Crackdown
A growing number of former Apple devotees in China started switching from iPhones to domestic Huawei smartphones as trade and technology tensions escalate between Washington and Beijing. The South China Morning Post reported that consumers were spurred by a rising “nationalist sentiment” to support the Chinese tech giant which has been blacklisted by the US.
China is Apple’s largest overseas market, accounting for 17 percent of its total sales in the most recent quarter. Last year, Apple ranked as China’s fifth most popular smartphone brand with a 9.1 percent market share in the country. The company makes roughly 20 percent of its revenues and profits in China, which is the world’s largest market for smartphones. Apple’s market share in China has already fallen to seven percent in the first quarter of 2019, mainly due to Chinese consumers’ growing support for domestic brands.
On Wednesday, Goldman Sachs announced that Apple’s earnings could drop by almost 30 percent if its products were banned in mainland China.
China’s communications firm Huawei has been accused by Washington of spying for the Chinese government. US President Donald Trump has issued an order barring US firms from supplying Huawei with parts or technology. Complying with the order, software giant Microsoft removed Huawei laptops from its stores. Google has cut off Huawei's Android license while Microsoft has stayed silent on whether it will prevent the Chinese company from obtaining Windows licenses.
Huawei has been granted a 90-day extension to provide software updates to Android-powered handsets and maintain “continued operation of existing networks and equipment”.
May 23 2019
- Japan's Panasonic Suspends Transactions with China's Huawei
Japanese consumer electronics company Panasonic announced the suspension of all transactions with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in the wake of a decision by Washington to add the company to a list of companies considered as a threat to US national security.
The broadcaster FNN reported on Thursday that the Japanese company had suspended all transactions involving Huawei and 68 companies affiliated with it. However, on its China website Panasonic stated is was supplying Huawei Technologies Co Ltd normally.
The news comes just a day after two Japanese mobile operators, KDDI and SoftBank, postponed the upcoming launch of Huawei smartphone sales in light of Google banning software updates for devices made by the Chinese telecom giant. Google cut off Huawei's access to updates of its Android operating system on Monday. Another Japanese operator, NTT Docomо, has also stopped accepting pre-orders for Huawei devices.
In mid-May, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order adding Huawei and its 70 affiliates to a trade blacklist, thereby restricting its activity in the country. From now on, US companies will be required to receive permission to do business with the telecom company. As a result, Google suspended its business operations with Huawei, including the transfer of hardware, software and technical services, except those publicly available via open source licensing.
May 23 2019
- Senators Offer Bipartisan Bill to Help US Firms Remove Huawei Equipment from Networks
A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Wednesday to help US firms remove Chinese telecom equipment from companies like Huawei if it's deemed a national security threat. The legislation would require fifth generation, or 5G, wireless networks be free of equipment or services provided by Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE, The Hill reported.
It also would establish a “supply chain trust fund” program to help US firms remove Huawei equipment from their networks.
The measure would require the establishment of an “interagency program”, led by the Department of Homeland Security, to share information with communications companies on risks and vulnerabilities of networks.
The bill was introduced by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), with Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) as co-sponsors.
Wicker, whose committee has examined 5G security in the recent months, said in a statement that “5G networks need to be robust and secure, and not rely on equipment or services that pose a national security risk”. Warner cited national security threats from Huawei and ZTE in highlighting the importance of the bill.
May 22 2019
- UK Largest Mobile Operator to Launch 5G without Huawei Amid US Pressure
The UK's largest mobile operator, EE, announced on Wednesday that it would launch the 5G network in the country this month without Huawei. EE chief executive Marc Allera told The Financial Times that the company has a multi-vendor strategy, so there is no need to change their plans, adding that the Chinese devices were put on hold as EE did not have "surety of service" that it needed for long-term cooperation.
At the same time, according to the BBC, UK-based computer chip designer Arm also suspended its business dealings with the Chinese tech giant, instructing employees to halt "all active contracts, support entitlements, and any pending engagements" with Huawei.
Washington claims that Huawei is installing backdoors in its equipment under Beijing's guidance so the latter can spy on users across the globe. The company itself denies the accusations and has even offered to sign a so-called no-spy agreement with the countries concerned.
As a result, Google ceased providing Android updates to Huawei and banning new Chinese devices from using Google services, such as YouTube and Maps. Previously, the US warned Britain that it may end intelligence cooperation between the two countries, prompting the United Kingdom to deny Huawei access to establishing its 5G telecommunication network due to espionage accusations against the Chinese company.
May 22 2019
- US Mulls Blacklisting Chinese Video Surveillance Maker Amid Trade War
The US administration is considering imposing limits on Chinese video surveillance system maker Hikvision in the latest attempt to counter China's economic expansion. According to the report, such move would effectively blacklist the company from conducting business in the US.
Hikvision is one of the world's largest makers of surveillance systems. While focusing mostly on traditional video surveillance, the company has also introduced more complicated systems, which involve artificial intelligence, speech monitoring, and genetic testing.
The company announced its products can allow people across the entire country to be tracked, as well as understand and react to "unusual" behaviour patterns such as sudden running or gathering of a crowd.
The US administration is seeking to secure a new trade deal with China while simultaneously forcing Chinese companies out of the US market, which has led to the expulsion of telecom giant Huawei from America's emerging 5G market. Formally, the US has cited fears that Chinese technology can be used to spy and steal information for the Chinese government, saying Chinese laws require private businesses to cooperate with the authorities.
May 22 2019
- US Business Group: Tariffs Are Hurting US Firms in China
A major business lobby group in the United States said increased tariffs between Washington and Beijing are hurting the competitiveness of US firms operating in China, adding that many are moving or planning to relocate their factories elsewhere in the world.
The American Chamber of Commerce in the People's Republic of China (AmCham China) stated in a report on Wednesday that US companies were facing increased government inspections, slower customs clearance and slower licence approvals, Al-Jazeera reported.
Nearly 75 percent of the 250 companies that responded to the group's survey announced that the recent tariff hikes by the US and China are having a negative effect on their businesses.The survey was conducted after China and the US raised tariffs on each other's imports earlier this month.
More than 40 percent were considering moving their manufacturing facilities out of China or had already done so, AmCham China said. Their preferred destinations were Southeast Asia and Mexico. Less than six percent of the respondents said they were considering moving to the US.
China imposed a retaliatory tariff increase and the Trump administration followed up last week by adding telecom equipment giant Huawei to a trade blacklist that restricts its ability to buy US components and software and do business with other US companies. Washington has temporarily eased some trade restrictions on the company in an attempt to minimize the effect on customers. No new trade talks have been scheduled, even though both Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to attend the G20 Summit in Japan's Osaka on June 28-29.
May 24, 2019 -
Trump’s Attack on Huawei Could Shatter US Monopoly on Operating Systems
So in this battle between Free Market principles and American Greatness, US President Donald Trump has chosen the latter putting Chinese telecommunications/consumer electronics giant Huawei on a black list of “
of foreign firms barred from receiving components from US exporters without a license”. This has caused
Google to cut off Huawei from their Android mobile device operating system (OS), which is surely to be a killing blow to their climb towards being the #1 cellphone producer in the world.
Regarding
desktop operating systems’ market shares Windows is #1 at almost 80%, Mac OS has about 15% and the biggest star of the little guys is Google’s Chrome OS at barely over 1% usage. For
mobile devices Android has roughly 70% of the market, Apple’s iOS has nearly 29% and the abandoned Windows Phone has less than 1%. Excluding some very tiny operating systems for niche users, both these markets look the same – one giant system used by a strong majority of consumers followed by Apple’s firm elite second place with everything else in a distant irrelevant third. It is important to note that since Apple only allows its OS to be used on its own products, this effectively this means that Microsoft has a monopoly on the desktop and Google has a monopoly on the mobile device market. Additionally, since every company mentioned above is American, this means that in the OS game the US has complete and total domination.
May 22, 2019 -
Huawei: Breaking The Deadlock
Huawei has revealed that if necessary, it will be ready to roll out its own operating system (OS) which can be used an an alternative to Google’s Android OS that is currently on almost all of the world’s Huawei devices. The move comes after the White House ordered a blanket ban (better referred to as an embargo) against Huawei entering the US market or doing business with US based companies. This resulted in Google cutting its software cooperation ties with the Chinese tech giant whilst American chip makers Qualcomm and Intel also severed links.
There is little doubt that Huawei’s in-house microchips and processors are of an extremely high quality. The bigger question is one of overcoming the use of the Android operating system and Google designed apps without direct support from the software developer.
Although Android is an open source operating system, questions remain as to how effectively Huawei could continue to use a system whose support channels will be cut off by Google in three months time.
Now however, Huawei has expressed its confidence in the ability to natively run Android apps on its in-house operating system that may be released to the public as early as the last quarter of 2019. According to some reports, the Huawei OS will even be able to optimise Android apps which would theoretically allow some of them to run in a smoother fashion than on certain Android devices.
May 20, 2019 -
Google-Huawei conflict won't affect Russian users, vows official
© AP Photo/Ng Han Guan The Chinese company has stated that it will continue servicing smartphones across the globe
The suspension of business contacts between Huawei and Google will not affect the operation of gadgets of Russian users, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Alexei Volin told reporters on Monday.
Earlier the US corporation Google decided to suspend business contacts with Huawei, which virtually deprives the latter of access to technologies and software, particularly to updates of the Android mobile software installed on smartphones it produces. The Chinese company has stated that it will continue servicing smartphones across the globe.
"The conflicts between US and Chinese producers will have no impact on Russian users as everything works out well," Volin said.