Huawei Eyes Licensing 5G Patents To Deal With The U.S Trade Ban

Sundar Pichai - Sep 14, 2019


Huawei Eyes Licensing 5G Patents To Deal With The U.S Trade Ban

Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei talked in an interview that licensees of the company would be authorized to explore, or even modify the source code behind 5G technologies.

China-based telecoms gear provider Huawei is considering licensing all of its 5G patents in an effort to counter the U.S trade ban which will take effect in November this year. The deal means its partners will have unlimited access to the service while being able to examine its source code. 

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The U.S trade ban targeted at Huawei will take effect in November

Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei talked in an interview that licensees of the company would be authorized to explore, or even modify the source code, to eliminate fears that the company or the Chinese government could spy on cell networks using its 5G gear. The world’s largest maker of telecoms gear has recently encountered lots of barriers to bring its innovative software and services outside China due to public concerns that it is making use of 5G equipment to surveil various mobile networks. 

Following the trade ban, the U.S ceaselessly urged its domestic carriers to switch to facilities offered by Nokia or Ericsson to deploy 5G broadband. Notably, both the two companies are considered Huawei’s biggest rivals. The Trump administration even stepped further as utilizing its influence to convince other allies to join the ban towards the China-based provider. 

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The Trump administration has utilized its influence to convince other allies to join the ban towards Huawei

Clearly, the Chinese giant appears to be in an unfavorable position relative to its competitors. It goes without saying that any business practice is worth ranging over, as long as it possibly helps the company to maintain its business presence in the global playground. That makes the plan of licensing 5G patents more appropriate, as it would drag more potential customers to Huawei who aspires to upgrade existing mobile networks. However, it seems more like a last-minute idea rather than a detailed proposal. 

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The plan might drag more potential customers to Huawei in 5G playground

Nonetheless, the U.S trade ban especially focusing on Huawei has been strongly criticized by many specialists. Besides the ability to damage the operation of American tech companies as well as the U.S National Security, the scheme is considered unfair when viewing the company, or other China-based businesses as a “bargaining chip” among the trade war.

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