Facing political pressure to scrap the deal, Verizon is dropping their plans to sell Huawei phones to their customers here in the United States. The plan is a blow to the Chinese manufacture who suffered a similar blow from AT&T earlier this month.
The news comes from sources at Bloomberg who state the main thrust behind the decision was political pressure due to concerns about the company potentially spying for the Chinese government, something Huawei has long denied and there being no evidence from the other countries where their devices are sold as this being an issue.
The decision means that Huawei will continue to sell their devices through retail channels like Amazon but, with no carrier deal, will have a significantly harder time breaking into the lucrative US mobile market. Without a carrier deal, it becomes extremely difficult.
The pressure from the US government is part of a broader narrative with concerns around Huawei’s network equipment, especially around 5G. The Chinese company is the largest network equipment supplier in the world and is pushing hard to get their phones and 5G network equipment out early. The US government is concerned about this, primarily based on security concerns, and has gone so far as to suggest a nationalized 5G network. The chances of this actually happening are very slim but it speaks to the concerns, founded or not, that the government has around Huawei.
The Huawei Mate 10 Pro, the company’s flagship, will be available through Amazon and Best Buy as well as the Microsoft Store starting February 4th.
