Huawei Trump-s US ban: Opens 6G research lab after HarmonyOS launch
Huawei has opened a 6G research lab in Ottawa Canada, despite widespread questions around its future in the current Western 5G roll out following a US Executive Order against it.
The research lab is open now and will see the company research next generation networking technologies. The use of 6G is fairly meaningless as there are currently no standards around 6G. Huawei’s own technology road map forecasts there won’t be any “actual” 6G tech until at least 2030. The lab is reportedly a “billion dollar” investment, according to GizChina, nonetheless.
Trusted Reviews has contacted Huawei for clarification what exact technologies the lab will research, but at the time of publishing hadn’t received a reply.
Related: Huawei Android ban
The news follows questions around the security of Huawei networking tech. The questions have been rumbling for some time but peaked in May this year when the US White House issued an executive order against Huawei. The order forced numerous companies to sever or diminish ties with Huawei, including Google, Microsoft, Intel and ARM.
It also caused a number of European companies to re-evaluate what Huawei networking tech to use building the region’s new 5G infrastructure. The UK government locked it out of any “critical” areas of the network, following alleged pressure from the US, earlier this year.
The move could be seen as a minor trolling by Huawei. US President Trump urged American companies to “step up their efforts” and roll out 6G as soon as possible in February – right around the same time he was picking the name for his new Space Force’s flagship.
I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on………
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2019
5G is a new networking standard that will sit alongside 4G. It aims to offer users super fast gigabit-per-second data speeds that can download entire TV series in minutes and stream triple-A games over the cloud using services like Google Stadia.
Related: Best 5G phones 2019
EE and Vodafone are the only UK networks with active 5G networks, though Three and O2 both plan to launch the next-gen tech by the end of the year. The network is only live in very specific areas including London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh.
The news comes just after Huawei unveiled its alternative to Android, HarmonyOS. Huawei HarmonyOS was unveiled at the company’s developer conference in China. It is believed to be a direct reaction to the Executive Order against Huawei, which forced Google to revoke the company’s Android license.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.