AT&T Backs Out From Huawei Deal; Mate 10 Pro Still Arrives in the U.S. Through Online Stores
AT&T has reportedly backed out of its initial deal with Huawei, but the Mate 10 Pro will still be sold in the United States through a number of online stores.
Shortly before Huawei was expected to announce its partnership with AT&T at the Consumer Electronics Show this week, reports said the carrier suddenly exited the deal. The Wall Street Journal suggested that the reason behind AT&T's change of heart was more likely political, and it took note of a 2012 Congressional report that linked Huawei hardware products to alleged "state-sponsored spying."
Meanwhile, The Information claimed to have obtained a copy of a letter that was written by the U.S. Senate and House intelligence committees and was sent to the Federal Communications Commission dated Dec. 20, 2017. In it, concerns were raised over the major U.S. telecommunications carrier's collaboration with Huawei.
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"Additional work by the Intelligence Committees on this topic only reinforces concerns regarding Huawei and Chinese espionage," the letter to the FCC reportedly said.
The Chinese electronics manufacturer is one of the leading companies in the world that is dominating the smartphone-making scene. However, its smartphones are not as widely available in the United States compared to rivals Samsung and Apple, and this was mainly because it was never sold through U.S. telecommunications carriers.
While Huawei has been selling unlocked units of their flagships through online stores in the U.S., they are yet to carry out sales through major carriers like AT&T -- which remains to be a popular choice among Americans when purchasing new handsets.
In a speech given by the CEO of Huawei's consumer products division, Richard Yu, during the CES 2018, the executive went "off-script" to address the issue.
"Everybody knows that in the US market that over 90 percent of smartphones are sold by carrier channels," Yu said. "It's a big loss for us, and also for carriers, but the more big loss is for consumers, because consumers don't have the best choice."
Yu pointed out that the company had already won the trust of other major markets through carriers around the world including China, Europe and Japan, and in an apparent move to address the espionage allegations, he added: "We are serving over 70 million people worldwide. We've proven our quality, we've proven our privacy and security protection."
On the other hand, as the supposed Huawei-AT&T deal did not push through, customers in the United States can still get an unlocked Mate 10 Pro through other retailers like Amazon and Best Buy for $799, and pre-orders will be accepted starting on Sunday, Feb. 4.
