Huawei | May 07, 2020
The U.S. Department of Commerce is close to signing off on a new rule that would allow U.S. companies to work with China’s Huawei Technologies on setting standards for next generation 5G networks.
The U.S. government wants U.S. companies to remain competitive with Huawei, Wilson said.
The rule, which could still change, essentially allows U.S. companies to participate in standards bodies where Huawei is also a member, the sources said.
The U.S. Department of Commerce is close to signing off on a new rule that would allow U.S. companies to work with China’s Huawei Technologies on setting standards for next generation 5G networks, people familiar with the matter said.
Engineers in some U.S. technology companies stopped engaging with Huawei to develop standards after the Commerce Department blacklisted the company last year. The listing left companies uncertain about what technology and information their employees could share with Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker.
That has put the United States at a disadvantage, said industry and government officials. In standards setting meetings, where protocols and technical specifications are developed that allow equipment from different companies to function together smoothly, Huawei gained a stronger voice as U.S. engineers sat back in silence.
The Commerce Department placed Huawei on its “entity list” last May, citing national security concerns. The listing restricted sales of U.S. goods and technology to the company and raised questions about how U.S. firms could participate in organizations that establish industry standards.
Read More: What Is 5G Technology, and What Does It Mean for Federal IT?
After nearly a year of uncertainty, the department has drafted a new rule to address the issue, two sources told Reuters. The rule, which could still change, essentially allows U.S. companies to participate in standards bodies where Huawei is also a member, the sources said.
The draft is under final review at the Commerce Department and, if cleared, would go to other agencies for approval, the people said. It is unclear how long the full process will take or if another agency will object.
As we approach the year mark, it is very much past time that this be addressed and clarified, which represents companies including Amazon.co Inc, Qualcomm Inc and Intel Corp.
Naomi Wilson, senior director of policy for Asia.
The U.S. government wants U.S. companies to remain competitive with Huawei, Wilson said. “But their policies have inadvertently caused U.S. companies to lose their seat at the table to Huawei and others on the entity list.”
The rule is only expected to address Huawei, the people familiar with the matter said, not other listed entities like Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision.
In adding Huawei to the list last May, the Commerce Department cited U.S. charges pending against the company for alleged violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran. It also noted that the indictment alleges Huawei engaged in “deceptive and obstructive acts” to evade U.S. law. Huawei has pleaded not guilty in the case.
A Department of Commerce spokesman declined to comment. A Huawei spokeswoman also declined to comment.
“I know that Commerce is working on that rule,” a senior State Department official told Reuters on Wednesday. “We are supportive in trying to find a solution to that conundrum.”
The White House and departments of Defense, Energy, and Treasury did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“International standard setting is important to the development of 5G,” said another senior administration official, who also did not want to be identified. “The discussions are about balancing that consideration with America’s national security needs.”
Six U.S. senators, including China hawks Marco Rubio, James Inhofe and Tom Cotton, last month sent a letter to the U.S. secretaries of Commerce, State, Defense and Energy about the urgent need to issue regulations confirming that U.S. participation in 5G standards-setting is not restricted by the entity listing.
“We are deeply concerned about the risks to the U.S. global leadership position in 5G wireless technology as a result of this reduced participation,” the letter said.
In the telecommunications industry, 5G, or fifth-generation wireless networks, are expected to power everything from high-speed video transmissions to self-driving cars.
Industry standards also are big business for telecommunications firms. They vie to have their patented technology considered essential to the standard, which can boost a company’s bottom line by billions of dollars.
The ITIC’s Wilson said the uncertainty has led U.S.-base standards bodies to consider moving abroad, noting that the nonprofit RISC-V Foundation (pronounced risk-five) decided to move from Delaware to Switzerland a few months ago.
The foundation oversees promising semiconductor technology developed with Pentagon support and, as Reuters has reported, wants to ensure those outside the United States can help develop its open-source technology.
Read More: 3 Things Government Can Learn About Cloud from the Private Sector
About Huawei
Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. With integrated solutions across four key domains – telecom networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services – we are committed to bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.
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StringKing | October 08, 2020
StringKing, a sporting goods, custom-fit apparel, and PPE manufacturer in Los Angeles, has won four Defense Logistics Agency contracts to produce 19 million disposable isolation gowns over the next 12 months. In April, StringKing was leading a team of 1,200 people producing 140,000 cloth face masks per day in Los Angeles. StringKing partnered with prime contractor Unifire Inc.—a highly rated US manufacturer and distributor of fire, rescue, police, and military equipment. StringKing is directly producing 12 million gowns, while they have partnered with three of the best garment manufacturers In Los Angeles to produce an additional 7 million gowns. In total, these contracts are creating an estimated 800 new jobs In Los Angeles.
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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS
Infor | October 11, 2021
Infor, the industry cloud company, today announced it has launched Infor Public Sector, a dedicated multi-tenant cloud offering for the UK public sector. The solution combines Infor CloudSuite Public Sector, Financials and Supply Chain Management (FSCM), Infor People Solutions (HR & Talent) with the dedicated public sector enterprise asset management capabilities of Infor Hansen, all of which run on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Infor Public Sector will ensure that local and central government and arms-length bodies remain on the most up-to-date software releases to provide robust, secure and easily managed services.
To ensure compliance with the applicable data residency regulations, Infor Public Sector can be deployed via AWS in London. As part of the offering, Infor will build on more than two decades of experience with UK public sector organizations such as South West Water, Borders College, London Fire Brigade and Viewpoint Housing; and many global customers including the City of Coral Gables in Florida, US, Ras Al Khaimah Wastewater Agency (RAKWA) in UAE, and the City of Franklin in Tennessee, USA.
"Through the pandemic, cloud technology has proven to be an essential enabler for remote working across the public sector. The opportunity to replace cumbersome, frequently insecure, on-premises applications and expensive datacenters that demand a lot of management makes for an immediately attractive option. Now Infor can offer the UK public sector the ability to stay up-to-date and secure, keeping data on UK shores, whilst delivering highly relevant proven functionality, as well as multi-tenant options that open the possibility of shared services. And all of this is backed by our knowledge in addressing public sector challenges from across the globe. This makes for an incredibly compelling business case throughout both local and central governments."
Anwen Robinson, Infor senior vice president and general manager for the UK & Ireland
"Our public sector customers; from local and central government, blue light services and education are all having to deal with further budgetary constraints since the Covid pandemic but are still looking for industry-leading solutions that offer real value," said Jay Parekh, FifthQuadrant partner. "FifthQuadrant's expertise comes from years of supporting clients through complex organisational challenges, and this is now matched by Infor Public Sector's robust and secure software, with critical functionality available straight out-of-the-box."
About Infor
Infor is a global leader in business cloud software specialized by industry. Providing mission-critical enterprise applications to 65,000 customers in more than 175 countries, Infor software is designed to deliver more value and less risk, with more sustainable operational advantages. We empower our 17,000 employees to leverage their deep industry expertise and use data-driven insights to create, learn and adapt quickly to solve emerging business and industry challenges. Infor is committed to providing our customers with modern tools to transform their business and accelerate their own path to innovation.
About FifthQuadrant
FifthQuadrant partners with customers across the globe to help them successfully deliver complex change programmes. By aligning the changes required to processes, systems and data, FifthQuadrant's "delivering differently" approach supports organizations to adapt, change and innovate through cloud-based solutions.
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