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Reuters: White House finds no evidence of spying by Huawei, feels unsafe anyway (update: White House denies)
Just last week, a Congress committee associated Huawei with "credible allegations" of "bribery, corruption, discriminatory behavior and copyright infringement." The report, of course, was part of the Legislative branch's ongoing concern of the company's alleged threat to national security. Today Huawei may have finally caught a break from the US government, albeit a somewhat backhanded one: according to Reuters, a White House ordered review says that there is no evidence of spying on the Chinese company's part. The other side of the hand lands when the report cites exploitable vulnerabilities in Huawei hardware -- one person familiar with the White House review said it found the company's equipment "riddled with holes," and susceptible to hacking. Security complaints aside, the government's old spying concerns are still there. "China has the means, opportunity and motive to use telecommunications companies for malicious purposes," said the House Intelligence Committee's Dutch Ruppersberger, explaining to Reuters that both Huawei and ZTE has pinned their limited cooperation on restrictions from the local government. Even if Huawei hasn't been caught spying, it's still something it could do -- and that's reason enough, it seems, for the US government to avoid doing business with the firm. Update: White House spokesperson Caitlin Hayden told The Hill that no such investigation has been made, stating: "The White House has not conducted any classified inquiry that resulted in clearing any telecom equipment buyer as reported in Reuters," recalling the US government's exclusion of Huawei in the planning for America's interoperable wireless emergency network.
Huawei and ZTE cry foul at US Congress' accusations, say the report was rigged
Chinese telecoms giants Huawei and ZTE have responded to Congress' claims that neither company could be trusted to sell hardware to the US. Both feel that they've been victimized, with ZTE pointing out that since no Chinese company is "free from state influence," the report should have included every tech business based there. Huawei, on the other hand, took a more resigned (albeit snarky) tone, saying that the committee was "committed to a predetermined outcome," and that the business is no different from any Silicon Valley start-up. With the ball firmly in Congress' court, it remains to be seen what action the government will take, but we suspect this one's got the capacity to run and run.
Congress to hold a hearing tomorrow on the Future of Video
If you're reading this, then you're probably always looking ahead at what technology might bring next. Tomorrow at 10AM ET, US Congress members of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will be doing that too. The specific segment of the market being discussed is video and on the docket to testify is a who's who of the video business. The old guard, NCTA and the MPAA, is being represented by Michael Power -- yes, the previous Chairman of the FCC -- and Michael O'Leary, respectively. On the other side are representatives from Dish Network, Sky Angel, Netflix, Roku and Public Knowledge. So yeah, this could get interesting. The NCTA has already starting posturing on its blog, Cable Tech Talk, with a post highlighting all the wonderful changes in the video distribution industry in the past 20 years -- however, curiously, the upwardly creeping price of the average bill wasn't mentioned. Of course a subcommittee hearing is just the first of a very long process towards real change, and while we'd be shocked if any of our ideas are implemented anytime soon, it's good to see some movement in Washington on a topic we care about.
Congress to examine government's dominance in wireless spectrum
The US federal government is, by far and away, the largest user of wireless spectrum in the States -- much of which is spoken for by the Department of Defense. A new Congressional committee will, however, be re-examining that position with the goal of freeing up airwaves for public and commercial use. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), who will co-chair the group, hopes the effort will ultimately end up saving taxpayers money and satiating the country's "exploding demand for mobile broadband services." Of course this isn't the first time the idea has been broached, but the bi-partisan collective suggests that an actionable plan to ease the spectrum squeeze might not be too far off. Let's all hope that the findings don't become quite as contentious as some of the other issues currently being debated in Congress's hallowed halls.
