US government employees will not be allowed to use Huawei & ZTE devices

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Following the resurrection of ZTE after their near collapse, the company is not out of the water yet. We saw Texan Republican Michael Conaway propose a bill earlier this year which would effectively ban US Government Employees (and contractors) from using Huawei and ZTE devices. That bill has since been signed by President Donald Trump as a component of the Defense Authorization Act. This is seen as a compromise after the Senate did not want to lift the ban on ZTE.

The ban effectively means that Huawei and ZTE devices can no longer be used as part of components or services deemed an “essential component” or “critical technology” to the system that they’re being used in. That does mean they can be used seldom throughout operations, but for the most part, can’t be involved. That is so long as they can’t view any critical data, however. Funding will also be provided by several government agencies to businesses which may need to replace their technology that makes use of Huawei or ZTE components.

In a statement to The Verge, Huawei called the ban a “random addition” that was “ineffective, misguided, and unconstitutional.” They did not say whether they will challenge the law or not, however. They did say it will increase costs for both consumers and businesses alike. Huawei and ZTE have both been targets of the US for years, with the former even being suspected of breaking the same trade bans as the latter. US lawmakers even pushed for AT&T to drop their deal to launch a 5G network in the US together. The Huawei Mate 10 Pro was meant to arrive with AT&T even before that, but was nixed last minute thanks to “political pressure.” It’s been a rough and bumpy road for both of these companies.

This is more likely to hurt ZTE than Huawei, though. Huawei is the second largest phone manufacturer in the world, and US government employees are simply a drop in the ocean compared to the larger global market. ZTE being the smaller player has much more to lose, but regardless, still finds itself in a better position than it was earlier this year.