Qualcomm receives license from U.S. government to sell 4G chips to Huawei

Qualcomm has received a license from the U.S. government to sell 4G mobile phone chips to Huawei, despite sanctions.

American companies were forced to stop doing business with the Chinese company after trade restrictions imposed by the U.S. government went into effect.

A Qualcomm spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that the company has received a license for a number of products, but didn’t offer any specifics. The company has other license applications pending with the U.S. government.

Qualcomm’s licence only covers 4G chips and it’s unknown whether it will cover 5G chips that would be included in newer phones.

Huawei said in August that it was running out of processor chips due to sanctions, and had stated that the time that “this year may be the last generation of Huawei Kirin high-end chips.”

Although the sanctions are hampering its business, Huawei managed to become the world’s biggest smartphone vendor in July due to strong domestic sales. However, Samsung gained the top spot last month as it saw a 47 percent increase in shipments, while Huawei saw a 24 percent drop.

Further, Huawei is reportedly planning to open a chipset plant in Shanghai, China to make parts for its core telecom infrastructure business. It’s possible that Huawei may be able to secure its telecom infrastructure business and also salvage its smartphone business by working with Qualcomm.

Source: Reuters