Lawmakers urge AT&T to cut ties with Huawei
• U. S. l awmakers are urging AT&T Inc, the No. 2 American wireless carrier, to cut all commercial ties to Chinese phone maker Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and oppose plans by telecom operator China Mobile Ltd to enter the U. S. market because of national security concerns, said two congressional aides.
The warning comes after the administration of U. S. President Donald Trump took a harder line on policies initiated by his predecessor Barack Obama on issues ranging from Beijing’s role in restraining North Korea to Chinese efforts to acquire U.S. strategic industries.
Earlier this month, AT&T was forced to scrap a plan to offer its customers Huawei handsets after some members of Congress lobbied against the idea with federal regulators, sources told Reuters.
The U. S. government has also blocked a string of Chinese acquisitions over national security concerns, including Ant Financial’s proposed purchase of U. S. money transfer company MoneyGram International Inc.
The lawmakers are also advising U.S. companies that if they have ties to Huawei or China Mobile, it could hamper their ability to do business with the U. S. government, one aide said, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
One of the commercial ties senators and House members want AT&T to cut is its collaboration with Huawei over standards for the highspeed next generation 5G network, the aides said. Another is the use of Huawei handsets by AT&T’s discount subsidiary Cricket, the aides said.
China Mobile, the world’s biggest mobile phone operator, did not respond to requests for comment.
AT& T declined to comment but said that it had made no decisions on 5G suppliers. U. S. lawmakers who have in the past expressed concerns about the prospect of the deal between AT&T and Huawei either declined to comment or were not immediately available.
Huawei declined to comment but earlier this week told Reuters that it sells its equipment through more than 45 of the world’s top 50 carriers and puts the privacy and security of its customers as its top priority.