Huawei asks U.S. to explain its exclusion from public safety broadband network project

China's Huawei Technologies has called on the Department of Commerce to explain why the company is apparently being excluded from participation in the construction of a national wireless network for emergency responders.

The Chinese telecommunications equipment vendor said that the Department of Commerce told it last week that it was barred from taking part in the project due to national security concerns. The company's participation would have involved testing the interoperability of elements of the wireless network, which is meant for use by police officers, firefighters and emergency workers. Huawei said it had asked the Department of Commerce to explain which U.S. government body had denied the company's participation in the project. The blocking "could have a chilling effect on our greater U.S. business activities and accountability needs to be defined appropriately," said William Plummer, Huawei's vice president of external affairs.