back to article Cisco lobbied telco customers to steer clear of Huawei

Lawmakers aren't the only ones who have been pushing to block Chinese networking companies, including Huawei and ZTE, from bidding on US telecom contracts. According to The Washington Post, some of the strongest pressure has come from the Chinese firms' US-based competitors, in particular Cisco. The networking giant has been …

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  1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Devil

    Cisco Livery Astroturf!

    So we still don't know whether Huawei has links to the {Party|Red Army|Other PRC Power Center}, but know that Cisco is very likely indeed to have links to {Congress|Senate|Military|FTC|Other US Power Center}.

    Oy!

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Black Helicopters

    Could it be that the CIA is finding it more difficult to press these Chinese companies into engineering backdoors into their routers for them?

    Pressuring your own home-grown telecoms companies is got to be a lot easier surely?

    1. El_Fev

      Yes it is, just as the chinese do for thei, and anyone who would allow one of the biggest potetial enemies to provide critial infrasture for their defence and civil networks is a frecking moron!

    2. Schultz
      Coat

      Alternative explanation: Economics

      It could simply be that Cisco cannot match the price of the Chinese competition. The same happened to many other industries. Lobbying to protect the home market sounds like an obvious solution to the problem.

      If the story would truly be about spying, I'd expect the US to stay silent and reverse engineer the relevant equipment: Giving the other side the illusion of control but having the tools to take over at any given moment would surely be tempting, eh?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I hope for Cisco et al..

    .. that they do not use any Chinese production resources or components. They may find the future holds a sudden shortage - or a public disclosure.

    Honestly, is there actually any industry in the US that does NOT feed of paranoia? Personally, I am reluctant to handle any US sources comms kit these days because the nation gives less and less the impression to respect *any* law, national or international. Now *that* I would call a risk.

  4. RonWheeler
    WTF?

    Falling on open ears

    Network admins need to justify spending megabucks on Cisco crap so they can continue to be part of the self-appointed CCXX networking elite. Scares like this makes it easier for the console port kings to get the bosses to sign off the outrageous prices for dated, buggy, obscure kit.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Meh...

    ...we're looking at Huawei, for no other reason than their kit is far superior to Cisco's stuff.

    Cisco are running scared and will try anything to keep their market share.

    Ironic they are claiming that Huawei are dumping their stuff a below cost, then come begging to us to buy their kit at a LOWER price than Huawei. So who is dumping kit in order to get market share?

  6. CheesyTheClown
    Facepalm

    Funny thing is, security isn't the issue with Huawei

    I'll admit to start that I currently feed my family teaching Cisco. I am however platform agnostic and hold certifications from other vendors as well. Huawei makes some great gear and should certainly be evaluated as an option for any contracts being bid on. Juniper as well. I can't speak regarding ZTE as there are only so many platforms a person can speak intelligently on.

    Cisco is the strongest overall platform for a simple reason. People.

    I have studied and worked with multiple vendors and frankly while I feel other vendors have better products than Cisco many times, the issue is that Cisco had a support infrastructure better than the rest of the combined. I find that when I'm teaching, Cisco has by far the best documentation and skills evaluation system of any company. The courses from Juniper are sloppy. The courses from Huawei (oddly being rip offs of Cisco's) are very poor. The exams from the other vendors (taken many) can be passed without any studying or even exposure to the platforms at all (I have).

    Cisco's ability to quickly respond to problems with top notch engineers on short notice is unrivaled.

    This is why I teach Cisco. Not because I love their products. Hell, they're just another router, switch, whatever. It's because the people supporting it are far better educated and capable of solving problems.

    P.S. I teach from other vendors as well... Just prefer not to. Their courses suck.

  7. Brett the Brat
    Pirate

    your nuts

    We keep buying network infrastructure from third world countries and that is just dumb. Foxconn is all over everything. Did we not learn from the counterfeit pieces of Cisco gear out there with back doors made from Foxconn rogue managers? Internet facing routers in one network can wreak a whole lot of trouble let alone MANY routers with backdoors in them. The future wars will depend on information. If your country is cut off who will conquer? This entire posting is my opinion.

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