Key 5G deals: Huawei positive about future

New Delhi: Caught in the crossfire of global geopolitics, Huawei on Thursday said things have started looking up for the company with the signing of key 5G deals in the UK and Russia and added that it is "positive" about the future.

The world's second-biggest smartphone seller, which shipped over 205 million units in 2018, also clarified that WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and all other such apps will continue to work on the devices as they used to.

"All these are third-party applications, and can be installed and used without any issue on Huawei devices," a company spokesperson said.

Huawei took solace from the fact that amid all the brouhaha, British telecom giant EE launched the country's first high-speed 5G network in partnership with the world's biggest telecom equipment supplier.

It also signed a 5G development deal with MTS, Russia's biggest mobile operator. Spain also became one of the first countries in Europe to commercially roll-out the 5G network in cooperation with Huawei.

"Huawei is a global tech behemoth that has aggressively developed technological capabilities.

On the back of its technical leadership in 5G, Huawei has been successful in forging partnerships with many nations globally," said Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group, CyberMedia Research (CMR).

Despite all the controversies, it is interesting to note that Huawei is still manufacturing circuit boards for UK Defence's F-35 fighter jets, rubbishing the China-spying narrative.