Andre Yoskowitz
27 Oct 2012 11:05
Clearwire has announced this week that it will use equipment from large Chinese firm Huawei to upgrade its data network starting next year.
The plan has been blessed by the U.S. government, more specifically by "the technical arms of multiple federal agencies." The company says it has "great respect for the U.S. government and their oversight role over the nation's infrastructure."
A congressional report earlier in the month had tried to block such a move, claiming Chinese state influence as a potential security threat.
Clearwire is majority owned by Sprint, which uses the high-speed network to boost its own spectrum and capacity. Sprint also provides carrier services to the U.S. government.
Overall, Huawei equipment will only represent about "5 percent of Clearwire's total budget for the network upgrade to Long Term Evolution Technology and that the company is "materially reducing their footprint" for its LTE network."
The upgrade should be completed by June.