US DOC gives Huawei a 90-day window to support existing devices



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Huawei giant logo on stage.

The Trump administration is using to ban Huawei products in the US market and to ban US companies from providing the Chinese company with software and components. This decision will have many consequences for Huawei's activities in the areas of smart phones, laptops and telecommunications equipment. For the next 90 days, Huawei will be authorized to support these products. The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has granted a temporary general export license for 90 days. Therefore, although the company is still prohibited from doing business with most US companies, it is allowed to continue its technical support activities.

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross explains the new exemption as follows: "The temporary general license allows certain activities necessary to continue the operation of existing networks and to support existing mobile services, including cybersecurity research essential to maintaining the integrity and reliability of existing and fully operational networks and equipment. "

The blockage of Huawei by the United States has been swift and sudden, and companies and people who depend on a Huawei product have undoubtedly frightened as a result. According to Ross, this 90-day exemption "gives operators enough time to make other arrangements and the department to determine the appropriate long-term measures for US and foreign telecom providers currently using Huawei equipment." for critical services ".

With this announcement, the DOC seems to be focusing on cellular carrier operators. Huawei is not very active in the US telecommunications sector, but some telecom operators in rural areas such as Wyoming and Oregon have adopted the Huawei hardware. The Ministry's recommendation to "make other arrangements" seems to mean that carriers should replace their Huawei equipment over the next 90 days.

Google and Huawei can again work on security updates

The 90-day license means that Google can again work with Huawei on smartphone updates. A Google spokesman told CNBC: "Keeping phones up-to-date and secure is in everyone's interest, and this temporary license allows us to continue providing software updates and security patches to customers." existing models for the next 90 days ".

Google does not directly develop operating system security updates for phones from other companies, but Google and manufacturers work together to report and resolve security issues in Android, which can then be broadcast to everyone. Google gives manufacturers access to security patches one month in advance, giving them time to develop security updates for their devices before the release of the bugs.

After 90 days, companies will have to stop working together and everyone seems to be preparing for that future. Huawei phones have been removed from the Android Q Beta page, so the company was probably excluded from the Android Q advance program for manufacturers.

Life after Google

As for life after Google for Huawei, the company apparently works on its own operating system. Huawei's consumer electronics manager, Richard Yu, recently spoke with The Information and said the company would be "forced to launch its own operating system and ecosystem" after the ban on export imposed by the United States. reports calling "HongMeng OS", and a few years ago, it was "Kirin OS".

No matter what the name of Huawei's operating system, the report says that it is "far from ready". According to Information, the operating system was still focused on China and was not intended as a versatile and global Android substitute. The Chinese media, however, tell a different story. According to an article from China 's Caijing website, Yu claimed that the operating system would be available in the fall or next spring and that it would be launched with Android compatibility. The translated report ends with a wild assertion that Android applications "recompiled" for this operating system will be 60% faster than those on Android. We will believe it when we see it.

The situation as a whole looks like a nightmare. Yu admits that the company is facing "a very difficult time". According to the report, Huawei does not even know if US citizens are allowed to work in the company, stating that "the legal department is still trying to find out if the knowledge and expertise of these employees could be considered as an American technology subject to sanctions ".

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