Andrew Beaton
Huawei Had a Deal to Give Washington Redskins Fans Free Wi-Fi, Until the Government Stepped In
Two years after a congressional report labeled Huawei Technologies Co a national-security threat, the Chinese firm unexpectedly scored a big-name ally in Washington. It was the Redskins, the capital’s National Football League franchise. Huawei reached an agreement in 2014 to beam Wi-Fi through the suites at the team’s FedEx Field, in exchange for advertising in the stadium and during broadcasts. It was a marketing coup for a company hankering to beef up its meager US business and boost its image inside the Beltway. But the deal didn’t last long.