It has been a very bad day to start the week for Huawei and it doesn’t appear to be getting better as more Tech companies are joining in google in out-casting huawei. All of Huawei’s American suppliers are falling in line with a US government edict banning them from doing business with the company.
The latest in line are Intel, Qualcomm, and Broadcom, three of the world’s leading chip designers and suppliers, which are now cutting off their dealings with Huawei, effective immediately, reported Bloomberg News. In addition, Nikkei reports that German chipmaker Infineon Technologies has also suspended shipments to Huawei, same as US memory chip makers Micron Technology and Western Digital.
The impact
Intel provides Huawei with server chips and the processors for its laptop line, while Qualcomm figures less prominently in providing modems and other processors. However, Huawei appears to be well insulated from the Qualcomm’s impact, as it builds its own mobile processors and modems.
Nikkei’s sources suggest that Europe might be falling into line as well. “Infineon decided to adopt a more cautious measure and stopped the shipment. But it will hold meetings this week to discuss [the situation] and make assessments,” said one source speaking to Nikkei.
Huawei’s Pro-Active Measures
A Bloomberg report suggests Huawei has also been preparing for this eventuality by stockpiling chips from US suppliers to last it at least three months, which should be enough time to tell if the current measure is a scare tactic or a permanent imposition from the US government.
Huawei has also been developing in-house alternatives to Android and Windows, specifically to try and address a situation such as the present one. Although Microsoft hasn’t yet commented on whether it will continue to provide the Windows operating system for Huawei laptops, but odds are that it too will respect the US government’s orders.
