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A couple of weeks ago, AT&T decided not to carry any handsets from Chinese smartphone maker after pressure from lawmakers over security concerns. Now, according to sources at Bloomberg, Verizon is following AT&T’s lead by dropping Huawei from its catalog.
Just like AT&T, the government is reportedly urging the move to end any collaboration with Huawei on standards for a 5G network in the US. “The next wave of wireless communication has enormous economic and national security implications,” said Michael Wessel of a US-China security review commission. “China’s participation in setting the standards and selling the equipment raises many national security issues that demand strict and prompt attention.”
It appears the government’s security concerns over Chinese spying through telecommunications infrastructure will likely delay the implementation of 5G technology in the US. Both AT&T and Verizon plan to roll out 5G networks this year, but now won’t be able to offer Huawei devices, which will likely be the first smartphones to support the new standard.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)