Mobile Phones
Pentagon orders stores on US military bases to remove Huawei, ZTE phones
By Stu Woo and Gordon Lubold
The Pentagon is moving to halt the sale of phones made by Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp in retail outlets on U.S. military bases around the world, citing potential security threats they say the devices could pose, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The move intensifies a squeeze the Trump administration has put on the two Chinese makers of telecommunications gear and mobile devices. Washington officials have said Beijing could order Chinese manufacturers to hack into products they make to spy or disable communications. Huawei and ZTE have said that would never happen.
Huawei is the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, behind Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., but it sells very few devices stateside. ZTE, however, is the fourth-largest seller of phones in the U.S., with a 9.5% share of units shipped, according to research firm IDC.
“Huawei and ZTE devices may pose an unacceptable risk to the department’s personnel, information and mission,“ said Army Maj. Dave Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman, in a statement. “In light of this information, it was not prudent for the department’s exchanges to continue selling them.” He was referring to the retail outlets at or near military installations in the U.S. and overseas that cater to American soldiers and sailors. Only 2,400 Huawei and ZTE phones were sold at those outlets last year, he said.
Maj. Eastburn said the Pentagon can’t dictate whether troops should buy the phones elsewhere, for their personal use. But he said they “should be mindful of the security risks posed by the use” of the devices. The Pentagon is also evaluating whether a military-wide advisory regarding the purchase or use of the devices is necessary, he said.
He didn’t provide details of the Pentagon’s specific security concerns. According to people familiar with the matter, military officials fear the Chinese government could track the whereabouts of soldiers using Huawei or ZTE devices. That could let spies learn about base operations, or know when troops attend off-base gatherings, for example.
A Huawei spokesman had no immediate comment on the Pentagon move. He said Huawei is employee-owned and that no government has ever asked it to spy on or sabotage another country. A ZTE spokesman didn’t immediately return a request for comment Wednesday morning.
The military was already reviewing its policy on the related matter of letting soldiers use fitness-tracking smartphone apps, including Strava, that could inadvertently reveal where troops are stationed overseas and precisely where they exercise.
Last year, officials from the U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization said they believed Russia had carried out a campaign to compromise NATO soldiers’ smartphones to gain operational information, gauge troop strength and intimidate soldiers on a recent deployment in Poland and the Baltics.
It is unclear how many phones could be affected by the Pentagon ban. Both Huawei and ZTE phones are much more popular overseas, including in countries where the U.S. has big military bases, like Germany.
The director of national intelligence and the heads of five intelligence agencies—the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency—testified before a Senate panel in February and warned Americans they shouldn’t use Huawei or ZTE products because of the risks they pose. They didn’t detail their specific worries.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said those products could provide “capacity to conduct undetected espionage.” Last month, Stars & Stripes, the military-focused newspaper, reported Huawei phones were being sold at military exchanges in U.S. bases across Germany, despite those warnings.
TKS, a subsidiary of British-based wireless-carrier Vodafone Group PLC that operates stores on Germany bases, said it has already shelved Huawei phones. “They’ve been removed from our portfolio to comply with guidance from the Army & Air Force Exchange Services,” a TKS spokesman said.
The effort by the Pentagon to limit Huawei and ZTE smartphone sales among military personnel comes amid a broader crackdown in Washington on Chinese tech companies. A 2012 congressional report labeled Huawei and ZTE national-security threats, saying their electronics could allow Beijing to conduct state-sponsored spying or to cripple telecoms networks.
Both companies have denied any complicity with Beijing, and have said they are as safe as any providers, since the industry uses a common, global supply chain.
Since December, several government agencies in Washington have taken a more targeted aim at Huawei and ZTE. The Federal Communications Commission has proposed rules to make it harder for small, rural carriers to buy Chinese-made telecom gear. Congress has also proposed legislation that would tighten restrictions on buying such equipment.
Lawmakers asked the FCC to scrutinize a pending deal by AT&T Inc. to sell Huawei smartphones. AT&T dropped that deal in January, without explaining why. Separately, Best Buy Co. recently decided to stop selling Huawei phones in the U.S.
The Justice Department, meanwhile, is conducting a criminal probe into Huawei, related to Iranian sanctions, according to people familiar with the matter. A similar probe led to a settlement last year with ZTE.
The Commerce Department last month slapped ZTE with a ban on purchasing American components, saying the company had failed to live up to the terms of that settlement. ZTE has said the move was unfair and is appealing.
Write to Stu Woo at Stu.Woo@wsj.com and Gordon Lubold at Gordon.Lubold@wsj.com
NEW DELHI: Global technology brand OnePlus on Friday announced its schedule of pop-ups across seven cities in India, which will take place on February 11, where attendees will be the first to get their hands on the newly launched products OnePlus 11 5G and the OnePlus Buds Pro 2, starting at 11 a.m.
At the OnePlus pop-ups, the first 11 people to buy the all-new OnePlus 11 5G will receive exclusive OnePlus 11 goodies, such as OnePlus products and merchandise.
In the seven major cities, the pop-ups will take place at OnePlus Experience Store, Phoenix Palladium, Mumbai; OnePlus Boulevard, Brigade Road, Bengaluru; Select Citywalk Mall, Saket, New Delhi; OnePlus Experience Store, JM Road, Pune; OnePlus Nizam Palace, Himayat Nagar, Hyderabad; OnePlus Experience Store, Phoenix Market City, Chennai; and OnePlus Experience Store, CG Road, Ahmedabad.
At the Cloud 11 launch event, OnePlus announced an array of its products — 11 5G, 11R 5G, Bus Pro 2, TV Q2 Pro, Pad, and 81 Pro keyboard.
The new line-up of products is distinguished by purposeful designs, industry-leading technology, and advanced interconnectivity, which is set to take the brand’s fast and smooth experience to all new heights.
The OnePlus 11 5G was launched at a starting price of Rs 56,999 which comes in two colourways — Titan Black and Eternal Green.
It features a 6.7-inch display that comes with a refresh rate of 120 Hz.
The smartphone comes equipped with the 3rd Generation Hasselblad Camera for Mobile with a “three-main-sensor” triple-camera system — 50MP+32MP+48MP.
The smartphone also comes powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset with up to 16GB of RAM.
OnePlus has also designed the ideal companion to the OnePlus 11 5G — the OnePlus Buds Pro 2, which promises to deliver a full-bodied, stereo-quality audio experience with crystal clarity.
The Buds Pro 2 is the second generation of its flagship earbuds, which is priced at Rs 11,999.
Apart from the first 11 buyers, other buyers will get an instant discount of Rs 1,000 on the OnePlus 11 5G, on purchase through ICICI Bank Credit Cards and EMI transactions, and up to 12 months No-Cost EMI on purchase using major credit cards.
Source: IANS
NEW DELHI: Apple Inc has rolled out a beta programme to enable 5G on Apple devices as the upgrade lets users try out pre-release software.
This software upgrade enables 5G access on Apple devices, as and when service providers Jio, Airtel and Vodafone enable 5G network access, sources said.
Apple Users have to enrol for the Beta Programme on the website, install a profile and download the software.
Jio users using iPhone 12 and above, in cities where JioTrue5G has been rolled out, will be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer. Jio Welcome Offer provides unlimited 5G data at up to 1 Gbps speed to users at no additional cost. However, there is a condition that prepaid users must be on active Rs 239 and above plan. All Postpaid users are eligible for this trial.
Airtel is not providing any special 5G offer like Jio to their users. In the cities/areas in which the Airtel 5G network has been launched, users can trial 5G services as a part of their existing plan, once they have updated the latest Apple Beta software.
While an email sent to Apple did not solicit an immediate response, the firm had last month stated: “We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance is completed. 5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December”.
Airtel and Jio customers on iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12 and iPhone SE (3rd generation) models can experience 5G as part of Apple’s iOS 16 Beta Software Program. The Apple Beta Software Program is open to anyone with a valid Apple ID who accepts the Apple Beta Software Program Agreement during the sign-up process.
If a user has an iCloud account, that is an Apple ID, it is recommended they use that. If they do not have an iCloud account or any other Apple ID, they can create one.
Customers who want to try the beta software should back up their iPhones before installing the beta software. It is recommended to install the beta software only on non-production devices that are not business-critical. Users can also provide feedback to Apple on quality and usability, which helps Apple identify issues, fix them, and make Apple software even better.
The iOS beta comes with the built-in Feedback Assistant app, which can be opened from the Home screen on the iPhone or iPad or from the Dock on the Mac.
Source: Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, India’s premier digital communications solutions provider, today announced multiple new products in its cloud portfolio ahead of the 5G service launch. The new cloud offerings will fall under Edge Cloud Portfolio and will include Edge CDN. Airtel will utilise Qwilt’s Open Edge Cloud solution for deployment.
Airtel Cloud’s Edge content delivery network (CDN) accelerates web and video content delivery by using its edge network to bring content as close to users as possible. This reduces latency, costs and load on servers making it easier for enterprises to focus on app performance. This service is especially useful in OTT, Ed-Tech, Gaming and Healthcare sectors.
Airtel Cloud’s Edge CDN service is network optimised as it uses 120 edge locations, network strength and share of mobility handset to bring better customer experience to customers. Airtel is working with two of the largest OTT companies in India and others on this platform.
Speaking about Airtel Cloud’s Edge Portfolio, Mr Ajay Chitkara, Director and CEO, Airtel Business Said, said, “With 5G around the corner, businesses will leverage the low latency, high bandwidth and high device density of the 5G spectrum to solve critical problems using edge computing. Airtel has three key strengths to offer a differentiated set of cloud offerings – we have 12 large data centres and 120+ edge locations. We also have a network with comprehensive coverage across the country and to most locations across the globe. Finally, our GTM strength has direct relationships to all businesses in India small, medium or large.”
Speaking about the partnership, Mr. Alon Maor, CEO, Qwilt, said “Airtel is a tremendously exciting addition to our global ecosystem of service providers, and we are delighted to power a unique content delivery service offering in India. Our edge architecture provides a new economic model for streaming delivery, in which Airtel Cloud’s Edge CDN plays a central role in the end-to-end value chain. This announcement underscores the momentum we are gathering as we realize our ambition to build the world’s highest preforming edge delivery network.”
Airtel has been spearheading 5G throughout India. It recently became the first company to test a captive private network at the Bosch facility in Bengaluru. Airtel is also rolling out its Edge compute service to customers. This will bring 5G private network and edge computing in a single box with a view to target factories, warehouse and ports, airports who will need low latency and high bandwidth network, IOT devices to collect and computing prowess to process the data.
Airtel also announced that as we move ahead, there will be many targeted cloud solutions coming in for specific industry needs like Banking, 5G Edge, Developer and hybrid cloud requirements on an immediate basis.
