telecommunications networks from acquiring or using equipment from foreign suppliers left these small broadband companies under a cloud of uncertainty. If they can no longer rely on affordable foreign equipment to run their networks, will they run at all?
"Small carriers face a constant uphill battle both in terms of limited vendors who will supply to us ... compounded by the regulatory challenges we're up against," said John Nettles, president of Pine Belt Communications, a small telecommunications company in Alabama that relies on the Chinese company ZTE Corp. for its 4G network. "Sometimes it feels like the cards are really stacked against us."
Last week, the U.S. Commerce Department separately added Huawei and its affiliates to a list of firms considered a risk to national security, effectively preventing Huawei from buying parts from American companies.
Huawei immediately began to feel the effects of the administration's crackdown, with Google initially cutting off Huawei from many Android hardware and software services. (After the Commerce Department announced a 90-day buffer period, Google walked back, saying it would continue to work with Huawei in the meantime). U.S. companies such as Qualcomm Inc. and Intel Corp., which provide the Shenzhen telecommunications giant with crucial chips and other special parts, told employees they wouldn't supply Huawei until further notice.
The move also left rural broadband companies that use Huawei equipment scrambling to figure out what it might mean for their day-to-day operations. Though small carriers don't export to Huawei, they often need to send technical drawings or data to Huawei in order to maintain their current network infrastructure.
The 90-day window announced by the Commerce Department on Monday allows companies that rely on Huawei equipment for crucial services to continue operations for now.
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