Huawei’s efforts to grow its US business have hit another snag, as the company was barred by the US government from bidding in a nationwide emergency network program.
The latest incident has led to protests from the China-based network equipment giant, which has constantly been hampered in its efforts at expansion in the US due to security concerns stemming from its roots and its alleged links to the Chinese military.
A US Commerce Department spokesperson confirmed in an email to Bloomberg that Huawei had been excluded from the program due to ”security concerns,” without elaborating on the nature of the concerns and how the decision was reached.
A Washington-based Huawei spokesperson told the wire service the concerns are both ill-founded and ungrounded, and called for accountability regarding how the latest decision had been reached.
Huawei has for years been grappling with its reputation in the US, despite the 2001 opening of its U.S. headquarters in Plano, Texas, employment of 1,500 workers in the country and repeated attempts to clear misconceptions about its corporate independence.
The Chinese vendor had been pressured by US authorities to abandon its $2 million bid to purchase US server firm 3Leaf earlier this year. Huawei and Chinese rival ZTE had also been excluded from participating in operator Sprint Nextel’s 4G network project, presumably also due to security concerns.
Both Huawei and ZTE claim to be facing discrimination in the US due to their origin. The latest program from which Huawei was excluded is known as the Public Safety 700Mhz Demonstration Network, which facilitates communication between firefighters and police officers during an emergency.
Despite the uphill struggle it faces in the US, Huawei appears to be gaining credibility in Europe, and recently hired former UK CIO John Suffolk as its first global cyber security officer.