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US attorney general says it should buy controlling stake in Nokia and Ericsson

The United States and its distrust of Huawei is well documented at this stage, but as more countries turn to the Chinese firm to assist in the rollout of 5G networks and infrastructure, the US needs to come up with some sort of alternative.

In the past president Donald Trump has said the country should look beyond the technology and develop its own 6G solutions.

While that suggestion is a little ambitious at this stage, US attorney general William Barr has posited a rather interesting answer to the country’s lack of 5G – buying controlling stakes in Huawei’s closet competitors.

In this case it would Nokia and Ericsson, both of which are behind Huawei when it comes to 5G, but certainly closer than any other telecommunications companies out there at the moment.

“There are only two companies that can compete with Huawei right now: Nokia and Ericsson. The main concern about these suppliers is that they have neither Huawei’s scale nor the backing of a powerful country with a large embedded market like China,” Barr explained in a speech regarding the threat the Asian country posed.

Detailing a potential proposal, Barr added that a plan of action could involve, “American ownership of a controlling stake, either directly or through a consortium of private American and allied companies.”

“Putting our large market and financial muscle behind one or both of these firms would make it a far more formidable competitor and eliminate concerns over its staying power,” he continued.

Whether something like this could ever happen is unclear, especially as such matters do not fall under the purview of attorney general, along with the fact that the position does not feature any powers to put such a plan into action.

It’s also unclear whether any American companies would heed his suggestion, and perhaps more importantly whether the likes of Nokia and Ericsson would be open to such a move.

Given that no America telecoms firms are anywhere near Nokia and Ericsson when it comes to 5G, and even further off the pace of Huawei, a suggestion like this may well be considered, especially if the United States wants to lead the way when it comes to technology as its current president often notes.

[Image – Photo by Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash]
[Source – Yahoo News]

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