Chinese firm Huawei and 5G prospects

When it comes to the roll-out (introduce a new product or service) of next-generation 5G cellular technology (Cellular technology is what mobile phone networks are based on, and it's the technology that gave mobile phones the name “cell phones”. Cellular technology refers to having many small interconnected transmitters as opposed to one big one), few regions in the world could be as excited as Southeast Asia, a region famed for intensive smart phone use.

But this week’s dramatic escalation in the United States’ crackdown (strong action to stop particular activity) on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has been a cold shower for those anticipating the mass-market arrival of a technology hyped (feeling very excited and nervous, fascinated) as heralding a new dawn of driverless cars and artificial intelligence.

Just weeks ago, Huawei had seemed assured of playing a key part in the roll-out (introduce a new product or service) of 5G technology across the region; now some industry insiders say the Chinese behemoth has no clear way of continuing as a central player anywhere in the world.

That in turn has left a question mark over when Southeast Asia’s avid smart phone users can expect to reap the benefit (to get something good as a result of your own actions) of a development that promises download speeds of up to 100 times faster than its 4G predecessor.

The US Commerce Department’s inclusion of Huawei on its Entity List (The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) can add to the Entity List a foreign party, such as an individual, business, research institution, or government organization, for engaging in activities contrary to U.S. national security and/or foreign policy interests) means that not only are US firms barred from using its equipment, they are also barred from selling to the Chinese firm – a move that could cripple (severely damage or prevent something from working) the company because it relies on Western parts, such as chips.