Verizon Leaves Huawei Sales Deal Reportedly After Warnings From US Government
After AT&T, Verizon has also reportedly backed out of a deal to sell Huawei-made smartphones following warnings from the government of the United States.
Huawei was expected to announced its first-ever partnership with a U.S.-based carrier -- AT&T in particular -- to sell their flagship smartphones in the country during the Consumer Electronics Show last month.
However, AT&T was rumored to have made an eleventh hour decision to turn its back on the deal due to reported pressure from the U.S. government.
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Unfortunately for Huawei, Verizon is believed to have done the same for similar reasons, according to a report from Bloomberg.
It can be recalled that the Chinese smartphone maker has been repeatedly linked to spying activities associated with its homeland's government - an allegation that Huawei has denied multiple times.
On the other hand, the unwritten blockade against Huawei products is also deemed to affect the more advanced services that consumers in the United States can get. According to the same publication, the company is one of the first hardware manufacturers that is determined to release products compatible with 5G connectivity. AT&T and Verizon are also in a race to offer the first 5G network services in the country.
The introduction of 5G network is seen as a crucial element for the advancement of technology, not just on smartphones but on other services as well including self-driving cars and artificial intelligence.
Huawei is one of the top smartphone makers in the world, right next to Apple and Samsung. While it might be doing well in the Chinese market as well as in other regions, the United States is one important consumer base that global corporations want to tap.
So, even if Huawei can sell its flagship smartphones (the unlocked variant) through other channels like Amazon and Best Buy, making sales through major carriers like AT&T and Verizon will definitely give it a boost.
Huawei's CEO Richard Yu naturally understands that.
In a presumed off-script speech at CES 2018, Yu said: "Everybody knows that in the US market that over 90 percent of smartphones are sold by carrier channels." He added: "It's a big loss for us, and also for carriers, but the more big loss is for consumers, because consumers don't have the best choice."
