Big tech firms cut staff’s access to Huawei

Some of the world’s biggest tech companies have told their employees to stop talking about technology and technical standards with counterparts at Huawei Technologies Co Ltd in response to the recent US blacklisting of the Chinese tech firm, according to people familiar with the matter.

Chipmakers Intel Corp and Qualcomm Inc, mobile research firm InterDigital Wireless Inc and South Korean carrier LG Uplus have restricted employees from informal conversations with Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, the sources said.

Such discussions are a routine part of international meetings where engineers gather to set technical standards for communications technologies, including the next generation of mobile networks known as 5G.

Chipmakers Intel Corp and Qualcomm Inc, mobile research firm InterDigital Wireless Inc and South Korean carrier LG Uplus have restricted employees from informal conversations with Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, the sources said.

Such discussions are a routine part of international meetings where engineers gather to set technical standards for communications technologies, including the next generation of mobile networks known as 5G.

The US Department of Commerce has not banned contact between companies and Huawei. On May 16, the agency put Huawei on a blacklist, barring it from doing business with US companies without government approval, then a few days later it authorized US companies to interact with Huawei in standards bodies through August “as necessary for the development of 5G standards.” The Commerce Department reiterated that position on Friday in response to a question from Reuters.

Nevertheless, at least a handful of major US and overseas tech companies are telling their employees to limit some forms of direct interaction, the people said, as they seek to avoid any potential issues with the US government.

Intel and Qualcomm said they have provided compliance instructions to employees, but declined to comment on them further.

A spokesman for InterDigital said it has provided guidance to engineers to ensure the company is in compliance with US regulations.

An official with LG Uplus said the company is “voluntarily refraining from interacting with Huawei workers, other than meeting for network equipment installation or maintenance issues.”

LG Uplus issued a statement to Reuters that there was no formal policy within the firm about limiting conversations with Huawei.

Huawei did not provide comment.

The new restrictions could slow the rollout of 5G, which is expected to power everything from high-speed video transmissions to self-driving cars, according to several industry experts.

At a 5G standards meeting last week in Newport Beach, California, participants privately expressed alarm to Reuters that the long-standing cooperation among engineers that is needed for phones and networks to connect globally could fall victim to what one participant described as a “tech war” between the United States and China.

A representative of a European company that has instituted rules against interaction with Huawei described people involved in 5G development as “shaken”. “This could push everyone to their own corners, and we need cooperation to get to 5G. It should be a global market,” the person said.