Huawei gets temporary reprieve from US import ban

Huawei can take a bit of a breather with the US Department of Commerce granting the company a 90-day reprieve to an import ban against them. The company gets a Temporary General License that allows them to engage with U.S. vendors on a limited basis. This means, Google can continue to provide software updates to Huawei for its Android phones and Huawei’s component suppliers can deliver on their previously-made orders. It also helps out telcos needing to find alternative solutions to Huawei products.  

Last Thursday, the agency put Huawei on its Entity List as a response to alleged sanction breaches the company has done with business conducted in Iran. This meant vendors in the US couldn’t work with the company. Suppliers like Google, Intel, and Qualcomm have announced that they would comply with the order. But with the reprieve, Huawei will be able to work with its partners temporarily and it’ll give the company time to find alternative sources to its US-made components. The company is already reportedly working on shipping its alternative mobile OS soon. The Department of Commerce can opt to extend the license beyond August 19th. 

Source: Android Police 

Huawei will reportedly have its Android alternative as early as this fall

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After Google pulled Huawei’s Android license, the company is left to lean on its own technology to continue its mobile business. A new report claims that Huawei might have its own mobile operating system ready as early as this fall. It’s being reported that Huawei consumer business CEO Richard Yu said this in a private WeChat group. It doesn’t come as a surprise that the company would need to speed up the process with recent developments. This project has been in the works in for some time already, so it won’t be that surprising that they could have something ready as early as possible. Will it be able to live up to Android and its customers’ expectations? That’s something we can’t say until we see the actual OS.

Source: Engadget

Report claims Google will pull Huawei’s Android license

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A new Reuters report that cites an unnamed source claims Google will stop doing business with Huawei entirely. Future devices from the company will not have access to any Google services, such as the Play Store and Android updates. Huawei will be restricted to access to the Android Open Source Project, which is free for everyone to use. However, this means the company won’t be able to collaborate with Google within the actual Android operating system and access to Google’s own apps like Gmail and Chrome won’t be available to Huawei. This won’t affect the current crop of devices, but if the rumour is true, this would mean future Android releases won’t make its way to existing products. And it looks like Huawei has to work double time on the operating system it said could replace Android. Neither company has responded to the report yet.

Huawei continues to be in battle against the US government over fears that it’s using its equipment to spy on American networks. But the company continues to deny that the Chinese government is using its business to conduct these illicit acts.

Source: The Verge

CIA accuses Huawei of being funded by Chinese state security

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The US government has been adamant about stopping countries from adopting Huawei’s technology. While it hasn’t been able to show direct evidence, one of the latest allegations against the company was shared by a source speaking to The Times, the unidentified source claims the CIA told UK intelligence officials as well as the other Five Eyes nations (Australia, Canada, and New Zealand) that Huawei has received funding from Chinese state security. These include the People’s Liberation Army, the National Security Commission, and a “third branch” of China’s state intelligence network.

As expected, Huawei declined to comment on the claims and said these were “unsubstantiated allegations backed up by zero evidence from anonymous sources.” There hasn’t been direct evidence shown yet whether Huawei is actively installing back doors and spying facilities in its equipment. But these accusations do suggest that the company might be getting some direction from Chinese intelligence outlets. Whether US allies will heed the warnings remain to be seen. They might need to produce actual evidence before its closest allies will reject the company outright.

Source: Engadget