Huawei-Vorstoß in die USA wird skeptisch verfolgt

Der chinesische Telecom- und Netzwerkausrüster Huawei will den amerikanischen Markt endgültig erobern und Cisco sowie US-Netzbetreibern verstärkt in den USA vor Ort Konkurrenz machen, was dort laut New York Times aber zum Runzeln vieler Augenbrauen führt:

Some in Congress and the national security establishment fear that Huawei’s close ties to the Chinese military might allow China to tamper with American communications gear. Last week, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, and three other members of Congress wrote a letter to Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, raising the specter that an equipment sale might permit the Chinese government to manipulate parts of the communications network, making it possible to disrupt or intercept phone calls and Internet messages. Anticipating these hurdles, Huawei has hired a remarkable array of Washington lobbyists, lawyers, consultants and public relations firms to help it win business in the United States. It has also helped create Amerilink Telecom, an American distributor of Huawei products whose high-powered board includes former Representative Richard A. Gephardt, the former World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn and the one-time chief executive of Nortel Networks, William A. Owens. Amerilink executives say they are primarily interested in helping Huawei overcome objections that its entry into the American market could jeopardize national security. “We take the accusations very seriously,” said Kevin Packingham, who recently left Sprint to become chief executive of Amerilink. “But regardless of the accusations, we have a model in place that ensures the security” of the network should Huawei win American contracts, he said. The effort is beginning to pay off. This fall, the American Internet communications firm Clearwire will begin testing a system based on Huawei’s 4G, or fourth-generation, network technology.