Book excerpt: How Huawei took the telecom world by storm

Book excerpt: How Huawei took the telecom world by storm

Editor's Note: On the next two pages you'll find an excerpt from Chapter 13 of a new book by telecom veteran Jon Pelson called Wireless Wars: China's Dangerous Domination of 5G and How We're Fighting Back.

It's a book about the rise of China's Huawei and the effect the company has had on the global telecommunications industry. It also goes into great detail about the security threat the company allegedly poses to network operators and global governments.

Huawei has wholly rejected such claims. Perhaps the company's clearest and most detailed counterargument is contained in its many filings with the FCC. In general, Huawei argues its equipment does not pose a security threat, and that it is not a cover for Chinese espionage.

Book excerpt: How Huawei took the telecom world by storm

Nonetheless, the Trump administration and now the Biden administration have taken a different view, and have worked to block Huawei's business in the US and globally.

Thus, Pelson's new book is noteworthy in that it takes a broad view of the topic and provides a wide range of details about Huawei's meteoric rise in the global telecommunications industry. This selection from Pelson's book – Chapter 13, "Sizing Up Huawei and the Global Marketplace" – details the mechanics of that rise.

Light Reading is publishing this excerpt with permission from Pelson, and because it's interesting. Pelson – a former executive of telecom companies including Lucent and Sprint – is clearly an insider and clearly has his own opinion of why and how Huawei came to power. The book is already in publication and what follows is his analysis and his publisher vetted the material, not our editors. We think you'll agree that it does make for interesting reading.

Enjoy.

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