Huawei is in talks with U.S. telecoms companies for licensing its 5G network technology to them, Reuters reported.
Vincent Pang, senior vice president and board director at Huawei, said companies have expressed interest in both a long-term deal or a one-off transfer.
“There are some companies talking to us, but it would take a long journey to really finalize everything,” Vincent Pang said. “They have shown interest,” he added, saying conversations are only a couple of weeks old and not at a detailed level yet.
The U.S. government, fearing Huawei equipment could be used to spy on customers, has led a campaign to convince allies to bar it from their 5G networks. Huawei has repeatedly denied the claim.
5G network equipment from Ericsson and Nokia are generally more expensive and usually mobile operators depend on Huawei for cost effective and reliable network products.
Huawei, the world’s largest telecoms equipment provider, was placed on a U.S. blacklist over national security concerns, banning it from buying American-made parts without a special license.
The idea of a one-off fee in exchange for access to Huawei’s 5G patents, licenses, code and know-how was first floated by CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei in interviews with the New York Times and the Economist last month.
