Qualcomm receives government ‘Ok’ to supply 4G chips to Huawei

This is an exemption to trade restrictions imposed that has been imposed by the US. Qualcomm, along side other US-based semiconductor companies, have been forced to stop selling to the Chinese telecom giant since September when the trade restrictions took affect. Now, Qualcomm confirms to Reuters that it has received a license to supply certain products to the Chinese company. “We received a license for a number of products, which includes some 4G products,” a Qualcomm spokeswoman told Reuters. The spokeswoman declined to detail further on the specific product that the company is allowed to supply to Huawei, but did however say that they are related to mobile devices. The Chinese company has in the past been a relatively small chip customer for the US manufacturer. Huawei has mainly used its own chips for its flagship phones and turned to Qualcomm for its lower-priced models. However, the Chinese companies potential and ability to design its on chips had hit a bump since September as the US trade restrictions also block access to design software and fabrication equipment for the company, the Reuters reports continues. It has previously been reported that industry analysts believe Huawei’s stockpile of chips – acquired before the ban – could potentially run out early next year, severely affecting its smartphone business.