Besides security, another reason US fears Huawei: Its gear actually work

The administration of President Donald Trump is escalating a fight with a formidable adversary

In the sparsely settled wildlands of eastern Oregon, Huawei Technologies is hardly the big bad wolf of China that US officials have depicted. It’s a lifeline to the 21st Century.

China’s largest tech company makes high-quality networking gear that it sells to rural telecommunications operators for 20 per cent to 30 per cent less than its competitors do, says Joseph Franell, chief executive officer and general manager of Eastern Oregon Telecom in Hermiston, a watermelon-growing hub of 18,000 people. Huawei’s equipment has helped some two dozen US telecom companies provide landlines, mobile services and high-speed data to many of the poorest