Sprint, Softbank agree to ditch Huawei over spy concerns

Sprint (S) and Japanese carrier Softbank (SFTBY) have confirmed to U.S. lawmakers they won’t use equipment from Huawei following their upcoming merger, Bloomberg reported. Softbank announced plans last October to pay more than $20 billion to acquire a 70% stake in Sprint. The deal was approved by the board of directors at both companies and was awaiting the green light from the Federal Communications Commission. Earlier this year, however, the United States Department of Justice asked the FCC to defer the planned merger so that it would have more time to review the proposal for “any national security, law enforcement, and public safety issues.” U.S. officials have become increasingly worried about telecom equipment provided by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE.



via Tech News Headlines - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/sprint-softbank-agree-ditch-huawei-over-spy-concerns-133354417.html