Japan’s Panasonic said on Thursday it was halting business with Huawei, joining a growing list of firms distancing themselves.
“We’ve stopped all business transactions with Huawei and its 68 group companies … that are subject to the US government ban,” Panasonic spokesman Joe Flynn said.
British mobile network operator EE, owned by the BT Group, was due to bring Huawei’s first 5G phone to Britain in the coming months but that now looks to be in jeopardy.
EE chief executive Marc Allera said that the company had “paused” the launch of Huawei’s 5G phones “until we get the information and confidence and the long-term security that our customers … are going to be supported”.
The group also said it would phase out the use of Huawei equipment in the most sensitive “core” elements of its network infrastructure.
Vodafone soon followed suit, announcing it was suspending pre-orders of Huawei 5G handsets.
“We are pausing pre-orders for the Huawei Mate 20X in the UK. This is a temporary measure while uncertainty exists regarding new Huawei 5G devices,” a spokesperson said.
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