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Huawei in 5G licence talks with US firms

Washington - 'Some' companies negotiating, but 'it would take a long journey to really finalise everything'

Blacklisted Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei is in early-stage talks with some US telecoms companies about licensing its 5G network technology to them, a Huawei executive told Reuters.
Vincent Pang, senior vice-president and board director at the company, said some firms had expressed interest in both a long-term deal or a one-off transfer, declining to name or quantify the firms.
"There are some companies talking to us, but it would take a long journey to really finalise everything," Pang explained on a visit to Washington last week.
"They have shown interest," he added, saying conversations are only a couple of weeks old and not at a detailed level yet.
The US 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.
Currently, there are no US 5G providers and European rivals Ericsson and Nokia are generally more expensive.
The idea of a one-off fee in exchange for access to Huawei's 5G patents, licences, 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. But it was not previously clear whether there was any interest from US companies.