Security Fears Kill Chinese Bid in U.S.
By JOANN S. LUBLIN and SHAYNDI RAICE
Sprint Nextel Corp. is excluding Chinese telecommunications-equipment makers Huawei Technologies Ltd. and ZTE Corp. from a contract worth billions of dollars largely because of national security concerns in Washington, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Defense Department and some U.S. lawmakers have been increasingly concerned about the two companies' ties to the Chinese government and military, and the security implications of letting their equipment into critical U.S. infrastructure.
Some officials argue China's military could use Huawei or ZTE equipment to disrupt or intercept American communications.
The Obama administration has also weighed in on the matter. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke called Sprint Chief Executive Dan Hesse this week to discuss concerns about awarding the work to a Chinese firm, but didn't ask Sprint to exclude the Chinese suppliers, according to an administration official familiar with the conversation. Mr. Hesse declined to comment.
Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704353504575596611547810220.html?KEYWORDS=sprint#dummy#ixzz14iTo8bZx
###
By JOANN S. LUBLIN and SHAYNDI RAICE
Sprint Nextel Corp. is excluding Chinese telecommunications-equipment makers Huawei Technologies Ltd. and ZTE Corp. from a contract worth billions of dollars largely because of national security concerns in Washington, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Defense Department and some U.S. lawmakers have been increasingly concerned about the two companies' ties to the Chinese government and military, and the security implications of letting their equipment into critical U.S. infrastructure.
Some officials argue China's military could use Huawei or ZTE equipment to disrupt or intercept American communications.
The Obama administration has also weighed in on the matter. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke called Sprint Chief Executive Dan Hesse this week to discuss concerns about awarding the work to a Chinese firm, but didn't ask Sprint to exclude the Chinese suppliers, according to an administration official familiar with the conversation. Mr. Hesse declined to comment.
Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704353504575596611547810220.html?KEYWORDS=sprint#dummy#ixzz14iTo8bZx
###
Sphere: Related Content
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment