An illuminated Huawei sign is on display during the 10th Global mobile broadband forum hosted by Huawei in Zurich on October 15, 2019.HOUSTON - Washington has the right to block US federal agencies from buying products by Huawei on cybersecurity grounds, a judge ruled Tuesday, dismissing the Chinese telecom giant's legal challenge to a purchase ban.
But the court ruled there was no constitutionally guaranteed right to a contract with the federal government.The ban was justified in the context of a congressional investigation"into a potential threat against the nation's cybersecurity," wrote US District Judge Amos Mazzant. Washington has long considered Huawei a possible security danger due to the background of founder Ren Zhengfei, a former Chinese army engineer.It has warned that the company's systems could be manipulated by Beijing to spy on other countries and disrupt critical communications, and is urging nations to shun the firm.
But the firm is expected to play a major role in the rollout of ultra-fast 5G networks that will allow wide adoption of next-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence.Huawei equipment has been seen as considerably more advanced than 5G competitors such as Sweden's Ericsson or Finland's Nokia, while no US company is considered a serious rival.