US telecommunications giant AT&T has confirmed it will deploy 5G network equipment from Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung. With this announcement, no major US operator will be using network gear from Chinese manufacturers for their next-generation networks.
AT&T is the last of the big US carriers to reveal its 5G suppliers. Rival carriers Verizon and Sprint previously named Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung as their equipment partners, while T-Mobile has selected Ericsson and Nokia.
Several governments, including the United States, have restricted the use of Chinese-made equipment in critical 5G infrastructure over national security concerns and potential state influence on companies based in China.
Earlier this year, US lawmakers reportedly warned operators that maintaining contracts with Chinese equipment vendors could make them ineligible for certain government contracts and subsidies. That pressure is widely believed to have influenced AT&T’s decision to call off a Huawei smartphone distribution deal in the US, a move that limited Huawei’s ability to expand its presence in the American market.
What was expected to be a major announcement for Huawei instead became an expression of frustration with the US market. At the event, rotating CEO Richard Yu said that, because of the situation, Huawei could not proceed with carrier distribution in the US, and lamented the resulting loss of consumer choice.
Huawei has strong global demand for its devices. In August, the company surpassed Apple to become the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer, underscoring its rapid growth and competitiveness in the consumer market.
The company’s telecoms infrastructure is similarly prominent in global markets. Beyond political and security debates, some industry experts have argued Huawei’s network equipment led Western peers by about a year in certain areas, and the company has won recognition for MIMO antenna performance and other technical strengths.
National Security Concerns
A 2012 House Intelligence Committee report singled out Huawei and fellow Chinese vendor ZTE as potential security risks. The report noted concerns around Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei’s former role as a deputy director in the People’s Liberation Army and recommended that US private-sector entities carefully assess long-term security risks when choosing equipment or services from these companies.
Huawei has consistently rejected these security allegations, calling them unfounded and urging the US government to investigate any legitimate concerns about its business practices.
The UK government established the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) to independently examine Huawei’s products before they are used in critical infrastructure. For several years HCSEC’s assessments raised only minor issues and concluded the equipment did not pose a strategic threat. However, in July the oversight board said it could only offer “limited assurance” that previously raised risks had been sufficiently mitigated.
HCSEC’s concerns focused on obstacles faced by security researchers when auditing Huawei’s internal product code and on vulnerabilities related to third-party components used in Huawei products. Huawei responded to the report by acknowledging the oversight board’s feedback and committing to improve engineering practices and risk management systems, emphasizing that cybersecurity remains a top priority.
Critics have also pointed out that major Western vendors have links to governments too. Reporting has noted ties between companies such as Nokia and Ericsson and Chinese entities, sparking debate about whether similar scrutiny should apply across the industry regardless of supplier nationality.
For US carriers including AT&T, the decision to avoid Chinese-built equipment appears driven in large part by a desire to minimize regulatory and political risk with the US government, even as technical and commercial factors also play a role.
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