huawei

Huawei ban: Full timeline as Britain gives Huawei approval to build its non-core 5G network

Technology

We break down the saga of the controversial Chinese telecom giant and phone maker.

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Huawei’s phone were at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, but you can’t buy them in the US.Sarah Tew/CNET

Huawei is the world’s No. 1 telecom supplier and No. 2 phone manufacturer, but it’s a pariah in countries like the US. There was no shortage of scrutiny on the Chinese telecom giant last year, and a number of countries banned the use of its networking equipment. Its phones are virtually invisible in the US despite its massive presence around the world.

The company’s chairman predicted that 2020 will be “difficult” for Huawei, and the early going seems to bear that out — the US is continuing to pressure allies to block Huawei from their next-generation 5G wireless networks. Despite this, January saw UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson giving the company approval to build non-core parts of the country’s 5G infrastructure, setting an important precedent as the wireless tech becomes increasingly mainstream.

The core issue with Huawei has been concerns about its coziness with the Chinese government and fears that its equipment could be used to spy on other countries and companies. It’s the reason why the US banned companies from using Huawei networking equipment in 2012 and why the company was added to the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security Entity List in May 2019, following an executive order from President Donald Trump effectively banning Huawei from US communications networks. 

The US offered a temporary reprieve to companies, allowing them to work with Huawei until February 2020. Huawei has long denied any wrongdoing and continues to maintain its innocence.  

It can be tough to keep pace with the sheer number of headlines, so here’s a timeline gathering a bunch from 2018 to today.

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