Huawei and ZTE can alleviate the security concerns that have largely kept their smartphones out of the U.S. wireless market, analysts from GlobalData said recently.
Avi Greengart, a technology analyst at the firm, suggested that Huawei establish a U.S. subsidiary under its Honor brand of devices, while ZTE should list its stock in New York or London in addition to Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Both companies, meanwhile, should commit to storing their cloud services data in the U.S. instead of in their native China.
The companies long sought to gain a foothold in the U.S. wireless market, but recent efforts were scuttled by concerns from lawmakers and the U.S. intelligence community, which worries about the cybersecurity implications of the companies’ ties to the Chinese government.
Storing cloud data in the U.S., Greengart said, could help “offset the quite legitimate fears that regulations differ widely between Western and Chinese governments.”
Greengart added that a U.S. subsidiary would establish an Honor brand with “no negative associations and is easier for Americans to pronounce in any event.” Additional ZTE stock listings on Western exchanges, meanwhile, could be accompanied by a marketing campaign highlighting its use of U.S. hardware and software from companies such as Qualcomm and Google.
“Both Huawei and ZTE need to create some separation between the infrastructure and consumer devices sides of the business,” he said in a statement.
