ZCZC
BCN-22
JAPAN-CHINA-US-TELECOM-TRADE
Two Japanese carriers postpone release of Huawei phones
TOKYO, May 22, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Two of Japan’s top mobile phone carriers
said Wednesday they will delay releasing new handsets made by Huawei after a
US ban on American companies selling technology to the Chinese tech giant.
KDDI and SoftBank Corp, the country’s number two and number three carriers
respectively, said the decision was taken to give them time to assess the
impact of the US ban.
The country’s biggest carrier, NTT Docomo, said it was also considering
similar action.
SoftBank had been due to release a Huawei-made smartphone on Friday, but
halted the release “because we are currently trying to confirm if our
customers will be able to use the equipment with a sense of safety”, company
spokesman Hiroyuki Mizukami told AFP.
“We still don’t know when we will be able to start selling,” he said,
adding the Japanese carrier is concerned about “everything” linked to the US
ban.
Citing national security, US President Donald Trump has effectively banned
US companies from supplying Huawei and affiliates with the critical
components that have helped it grow into the world’s largest supplier of
telecom networking equipment and second-biggest smartphone maker.
US officials this week, however, issued a 90-day reprieve on the ban on
dealing with Huawei, saying breathing space is needed to avoid huge
disruption.
Japanese carrier KDDI said its release of the HUAWEI P30 litePremium
planned in May will also be postponed, with spokeswoman Reiko Nakamura
saying: “We’re checking the facts on how (the US decision) was made and its
impact.”
NTT Docomo spokesman Takahiro Suzuki told AFP that the firm is “studying
possibility of stopping the receiving of sales orders of HUAWEI P30 Pro that
we are planning to release this summer”.
Last week Trump declared a “national emergency” empowering him to
blacklist companies seen as “an unacceptable risk to the national security of
the United States” — a move analysts said was clearly aimed at Huawei.
The US Commerce Department also announced an effective ban on US companies
selling or transferring US technology to Huawei.
Washington has long suspected deep links between Huawei and the Chinese
military, and its moves against the company come amid the churning trade
dispute between the world’s top two economies.
The risks for Huawei came into focus this week when Google, whose Android
operating system powers most of the world’s smartphones, said it would cut
ties with Huawei as a result of the ban.
That poses a dire threat to Huawei as loss of full access to Google’s
services could make its phones a hard sell to consumers. `
BSS/AFP/HR/1440