In yet another blow to Huawei’s smartphone business in the Trump administration’s trade restrictions on the company, major mobile networks in Asia and Europe are suspending orders for Huawei smartphones on their networks.
Vodafone, the world’s second largest carrier has stopped pre-orders for Huawei’s 5G smartphone, the Mate 20X in the UK. A spokesperson for Vodafone UK told CNN that “this is a temporary measure while uncertainty exists regarding new Huawei 5G devices.”
In the UK, EE has delaying the introduction of the new Huawei Mate 20X, even though it had earlier touted the smartphone for its 5G networks.
Outside of Europe, Japanese telecom major, NTT Docomo announced that it has stopped taking pre-orders for the Huawei P20 Lite which was scheduled to launch in the country next month. Other major Japanese carriers — KDDI and Softbank Corp. — also announced that they will delay the release of the smartphone.
These new reports are a latest in a wave of companies, both US-based and outside, restricting business activities with the Chinese giant. After Google restricted Huawei’s Android license, companies like Intel, Microsoft, Broadcom, and ARM have also suspended business with Huawei, and Google has removed the Mate 20 Pro from its Android Q beta. However, with mobile carriers basically banning sales of Huawei phones, the company looks like it’s headed for major trouble in the very near future, as far as its smartphone business is concerned.
