Huawei CEO Ken Hu says that the company’s networking business remains mostly unaffected by efforts on the part of the US government to discourage allies from using the OEM’s networking equipment. The EU and the UK are reportedly expected to be among customers receiving a portion of the 45,000 5G base stations stemming from no fewer than 40 new deals inked since the end of March.
Income for the company from its networking is up by 20-percent. The executive expects its revenue to continue growing as rollouts continue and the race for dominance in the 5G space heats up. That’s despite new requirements meant to strengthen security in Germany and elsewhere in the EU, as the region’s leadership pushes for a wider array of providers to encourage competition.
A failed bid to hold Huawei down
If Huawei’s figures line up, the statements could be viewed as a challenge by US authorities who have repeatedly pushed back against the mobile and networking OEM. The government has gone so far as to not only ban the use of Huawei networking equipment within its own borders but has threatened Germany in the event that the country allows Huawei in.
Germany and others in the EU have largely dismissed the seriousness of the US’s claims that its cooperation will the country on international security efforts will be diminished over concerns the Chinese government will use the networks to spy on communications. That doesn’t mean the allegations have been entirely dismissed, but efforts will center around cooperative monitoring and sharing information rather than banning the company from assisting in the technology’s rollout.
The situation in the UK is less certain. The country has called out Huawei’s practices as “shoddy” in terms of both its engineering and security practices as recently as early April. It also suggested that it will be going so far as to prevent the Chinese networking giant from taking part in building out or accessing “core” parts of the network.
What’s the big deal and how does this affect the 5G race?
Problems stemming from Huawei’s networking equipment don’t necessarily begin with a deliberate effort on behalf of the company to actively spy on users for the Chinese government. Instead, laws and regulation in China open up the way for requests that would effectively force the company to do so.
Tensions have additionally been impacted by the fact that several of Huawei’s executives have been arrested for sabotaging other companies or under allegations of fraud and other illegal activities. That’s stacked on top of an ongoing trade war between the US and China, which is likely exacerbating matters further. Huawei has, in fact, sued the US government over its claims on that basis.
None of that appears to be having a severe impact on Huawei’s growth and it certainly isn’t affecting its growth at home. The manufacturer and equipment supplier does not expect its role in the spread of 5G to diminish either. In Shenzhen along — Huawei’s headquarters location — the CEO says it expects to fuel user base growth up to as many as 2.8 million 5G subscribers by the end of 2025.