The UK’s decision to allow Huawei to supply equipment for its 5G networks has disappointed officials in Washington. But it has also reignited a debate at the top of the administration: why is there no US rival to the Chinese company?
American diplomats have been warning US allies of the danger of using the Chinese company’s telecoms equipment, which they say could be used by Beijing for spying. But they have been unable to recommend or support a US company to step in and provide the same equipment instead.
“The White House keeps asking why we can’t do what Huawei does, and how long it would take for us to be able to do so,” said one US telecoms executive. “They don’t seem to understand — we gave that capability up a long time ago.”