Hasta La Gadget!

Chinese telecom giant Huawei already has a pretty big (and growing) presence in North America, having previously signed deals with regional carriers like Leap (better known by its Cricket brand) and MetroPCS — but apparently, a bid to supply one of the Big Four with equipment is hitting a little too close to home for some legislators. A group of eight US Senators has filed a letter with the Treasury Department expressing concern over Huawei’s alleged ties with everything from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq to present-day Iran to China’s own People’s Liberation Army, saying that such a company “should not be able to do business” in the country. Of course, similar concerns ended up dooming Huawei’s attempted buyout of 3Com not long ago — and considering the political climate in US-China relations, this is the kind of lukewarm response Huawei and other major Chinese firms might need to keep dealing with as they try to grow their Western presence.

US Senators uneasy over possible Huawei equipment deal for Sprint originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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