Mostly only going to effect new phones. Existing phones will retain access and Huawei has already promised to continue to provide security updates. Also I suspect there will be ways to fool the Google systems to thinking a huawei phone is something else.

 

However If I were you, yep I'd be ruling out Huawei and or any other Chinese brands for now.

Yeah, I was going to say that Trumpolini has apparently effectively blocked the use of "smart" phones from Chinese companies for now.

UK on the bandwagon now too. ARM is about to stop supplying processors to Huawei. That'll be a bit more of a kicking for them.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but with few exceptions, smartphones come from China generally, even fruit need ones. This is the point at which protectionism will probably score an own goal.

13 minutes ago, Chris GB said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but with few exceptions, smartphones come from China generally, even fruit need ones. This is the point at which protectionism will probably score an own goal.

 

I think this is more to do with company ownership and the specific terms of the embargo.

 

So the US is blocking any export of techology to Huawei (not to China as a nation). This includes updates to Android OS (outside the GNU licensing).  ARM processor design appears to be carried out in the US so that technology can't be exported to China even though ARM is owned in the UK.

 

Tech can still be imported from China but with additional duty (25%).

 

Things like Apple are manufactured in China but the tech and the company is US owned so that's OK apparently.

36 minutes ago, Aspman said:

 

I think this is more to do with company ownership and the specific terms of the embargo.

 

ICYMI
 

Quote

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s biggest mobile operator EE aims to launch the country’s first 5G service next week, but it will not offer Huawei handsets until the Chinese company’s future becomes clear following its row with the United States.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bt-5g-idUKKCN1SS0SS?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_content=5ce54944a78c460001092de3&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

EE are charging a hefty premium for the pleasure of it too, whereas Vodafone has pledged not to. 

 

I used to be with Orange who were swallowed by them, but left due to the abysmal standard of coverage in the area surrounding where I live, now with Vodafone and have been for quite a few years and very happy with them. 

 

I for one won't be rushing to get a 5G handset though as I never buy on a contract and only ever do a 30 day rolling contract or 12 month one, so buy Sim Free which makes a handset very expensive initially, but cheaper over a couple of years or so. (Thanks to Martyn Lewis MSE for that advice) 

We'll probably see data throttling on 4g once 5g is broadly available, just like EE did with 3g when 4g was their current product.

5G is fine for those who live in the UKs towns and cities, but a significant number of people (like me) don't live or want to live in a town or city, so yet again we're going to be penalised for doing so. 

 

I really don't care about downloading the entire series of game of thrones or other rubbish in 20s flat, all I want is a good reliable phone signal and net connection so that I can get stuff like maps to work, mail and maybe music to work on the fly. 

1 hour ago, TheWanderer said:

5G is fine for those who live in the UKs towns and cities, but a significant number of people (like me) don't live or want to live in a town or city, so yet again we're going to be penalised for doing so. 

 

I really don't care about downloading the entire series of game of thrones or other rubbish in 20s flat, all I want is a good reliable phone signal and net connection so that I can get stuff like maps to work, mail and maybe music to work on the fly. 

 

What he said ^^^

 

2 hours ago, StickyMicky said:

 

What he said ^^^

 

 

Seconded...   Even though I do live on the outskirts of a city!

We're going a bit OT here but I struggle to see the purpose of 5G right now. It offers higher speeds at very expensive prices..

Generally if you need higher bandwidths it's because you deal with larger volumes as well. I don't know many user who only need short burst of high bandwidth access.

 

Also most people are pretty contented on 4G if they can get it. I pay about £7 for effectively unlimited minutes and 8gb of data. If I want the minimum 10Gb on 5G it'll cost me £54.

I can easily buy unlimited data on 4G for less than that.

 

I've just no idea who they are targetting this at. A vanishingly small number of 'influencers' who must have 5G to upload their latest musings and to download 4k HDR video to watch on a 6" screen.

Edited 23 May, 20197 yr by Aspman

Although 5G if available out of cities may be a lot faster than what comes 'down the wires' . Broadband via 5G rather than by fibre?

On 20/05/2019 at 11:25, Aspman said:

However If I were you, yep I'd be ruling out Huawei and or any other Chinese brands for now.

 

so that would include Honor, who are a subsiduary of Huawei

 

It's funny how in all the talk of Huaweui and how their phones will be affected (that I have seen), there hasn't been any mention of Honor

 

is this a bit like when the VW dieselgate scandal first broke, and everyone initially focussed on VW, without thinking if it would also affect Audi / Skoda / Seat ?

8 minutes ago, Wet Kipper said:

in all the talk of Huaweui and how their phones will be affected (that I have seen), there hasn't been any mention of Honor

Well, I, for one, I have never heard of "Honor cell phones".

19 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

Well, I, for one, I have never heard of "Honor cell phones".

They are a sub brand of Huawei, well known for low / mid price handsets. There are other dual brands, like Pocophone / Xiaomi and Oppo / OnePlus.

They've been around for a few years now, usually mid range stuff, they generally lack things like the latest SoC (Snapdragon 855), AMOLED screens, memory card slots, NFC (contactless payment etc) & wireless charging.

 

As I said they tend to go & cater for the mid range market.

 

I've never even considered them, as I require most of the above

Edited 23 May, 20197 yr by TheWanderer

I would expect other Chinese phone manufacturers to be targetted if the ban escalates. Huawei was a big target less because of their phones and more because they sell a lot of tech that underpins the telephone and broadband networks in the West. BT has been a big buyer of Huawei kit as have the US telcos.

 

They're a big rival to the likes of Cisco so there is a large degree of protectionism underpinning these measures.

 

Althought Huawei kit has been extensively tested the secureity services belive that the Chinese government could coerce Huawei to introduce intelligence gathering 'stuff' into their network kit. So that you could in effect never trust Huawei kit completely.

The reality is, you can never fully trust any kit, wherever it was made.

21 hours ago, TheWanderer said:

5G is fine for those who live in the UKs towns and cities, but a significant number of people (like me) don't live or want to live in a town or city, so yet again we're going to be penalised for doing so.

And will have to keep retuning our Freeview TVs and STBs so that the spectrum can be freed up to be sold to the highest bidder for 5G.

 

And because we don't live in towns or cities our broadband will never be fast enough to be a credible method to be the only method to watch TV, etc.

I've just an interesting (to me, at least) article on Zdnet "Tech trade war: After Huawei, which Chinese firms are next on US enemies list" which helps explain some of the background to and extent of the potential impact of Humpty Trumpty's attempts to start WW3.  It won't just affect the US and China, we're in the middle of it via the likes of ARM who design the processors that go into a lot of the kit in question.

 

Linky if you're interested in reading further ...

 

On 22/05/2019 at 19:10, TheWanderer said:

5G is fine for those who live in the UKs towns and cities, but a significant number of people (like me) don't live or want to live in a town or city, so yet again we're going to be penalised for doing so. 

 

I really don't care about downloading the entire series of game of thrones or other rubbish in 20s flat, all I want is a good reliable phone signal and net connection so that I can get stuff like maps to work, mail and maybe music to work on the fly. 

 

Having been interested in mobile technology since before 2g I've seen how the various generations have improved reliability, speed and connection strength. 3g in particular made a huge difference in getting usable signal into the middle of nowhere. And yes I have spent a large chunk of my life living in the sticks having to hang out of bedroom windows to send a text. 5g is shaping up to be a similar step in modern performance. I expect it will deliver the sort of connection we now see with full speed 3g but in the countryside.

I wish I could share your optimism. 

4 hours ago, MarkyG82 said:

I expect it will deliver the sort of connection we now see with full speed 3g but in the countryside.

The 700MHz frequencies will help (propagation losses increase with the square of frequency) but the 60GHz frequencies are no more than a gimmick.

 

Given the costs of the infrastructure that will be required to provide full indoor and outdoor coverage in the countryside will likely prove uneconomical for the network operators I can't share your optimism.

On 23/05/2019 at 16:46, Chris GB said:

The reality is, you can never fully trust any kit, wherever it was made.

 

This is true, but Trump wants you to use American kit with good wholesome 'Murican Freedom lovin backdoors. But not backdoor lovin, that's unChristian therfore unAmerican and commie.

https://www.infoworld.com/article/2608141/snowden--the-nsa-planted-backdoors-in-cisco-products.html

 

https://www.zdnet.com/article/coalition-of-tech-giants-hit-by-nsa-spying-slams-encryption-backdoors/

 

 

On 23/05/2019 at 21:41, MarkyG82 said:

 

Having been interested in mobile technology since before 2g I've seen how the various generations have improved reliability, speed and connection strength. 3g in particular made a huge difference in getting usable signal into the middle of nowhere. And yes I have spent a large chunk of my life living in the sticks having to hang out of bedroom windows to send a text. 5g is shaping up to be a similar step in modern performance. I expect it will deliver the sort of connection we now see with full speed 3g but in the countryside.

 

Yep, 5G could indeed be of great use out in unconnected rural areas. But you're not going to get it. It's not economically viable. the only chance you would ahve is that teh government will mandate  the rollout of higher speed BB to your area. In that case 5G might make more sense than pushing fibre but you'll probably still pay through the nose, get less than expected and they'll have an opt out for the moderately remote (extremely remote areas tend to be catered for usualy through EU funding).

 

I wonder if those people who have bought Huawei phones on contract will have a get out on their contract or an argument for a switch if their phones are not updated and could be considered not fit for purpose. Would Trump's action come under force majeure or 'act of God'?