The US campaign against Huawei can offer no US-based alternatives

As US officials have pressured allies not to use networking gear from Chinese technology giant Huawei over spying concerns, President Donald Trump has urged American companies to “step up” and compete to provide the next generation of high-speed, low-lag wireless service known as 5G. There’s just one problem: There are barely any US companies manufacturing the technology’s most critical components. The absence of a US alternative to foreign suppliers of 5G networking equipment underscores the growing dominance of Huawei, which has evolved into the world’s biggest supplier of telecom equipment, sparking fears within the Trump administration that a 5G network powered by Huawei’s wireless parts could endanger national security. And it throws into sharp relief the years-long retreat by US firms from that market. Carriers such as Sprint and Verizon have moved swiftly to launch 5G services for consumers. But the wireless networking gear the industry relies on still comes from foreign suppliers: four companies, Sweden’s Ericsson, Finland’s Nokia and China’s Huawei and ZTE, account for two-thirds of the global market for telecom equipment, according to analyst estimates.