NBTC Secretary-General: Thailand unaffected by curbs on Huawei

[webfact]

NBTC Secretary-General: Thailand unaffected by curbs on Huawei

 

   

BANGKOK, 23 May 2019 (NNT) - The Secretary-General of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) disclosed today that Thailand has not been affected by the United States’ curbs on Huawei at this stage, confirming that Thai people can still use current Huawei phones, though users may not be able to use United States’ applications on Huawei’s future phone models.

 

NBTC Secretary General Thakorn Tanthasit says that the NBTC sought details of the situation from the United States Embassy in Thailand, and received a report that people in Thailand who use Huawei communication devices can continue to use them as usual.

 

However, the devices’ data update may be affected. Huawei devices on display in the phone market also function normally. However, for devices to be produced in the future, there is a possibility that United States’ companies may not provide certain services. Meaning users may not be able to use Google and Facebook on new Huawei models.

 

However, Thailand is only the United States’ watchlist and has not yet been placed on the blacklist which contains 40 countries, especially those that border the United States such as Canada and other countries in the region.

 

-- © Copyright nnt 2019-05-23

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[zydeco]

6 minutes ago, webfact said:

However, Thailand is only the United States’ watchlist and has not yet been placed on the blacklist which contains 40 countries, especially those that border the United States such as Canada and other countries in the region.

Does anybody have the slightest idea what they are trying to say, here?

[userabcd]

From Torrentfreak, I think they are referring to the US IP list

 

 

[overherebc]

If thay lose facebook here many will be in a state of withdrawal until they manage to get further in debt for the latest super dooper expensive phone made by 'you fill in the name.'

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

may not be able to use Google and Facebook on new Huawei models.

 

The absence of Facebook from future Huawei mobile phone models would be a killer for the brand here in Thailand.....   What Thai is going to buy a new phone that doesn't come with, and can't install, Facebook?

 

That's assuming Trump and Co. don't threaten as they've done here and in the past, and then later reverse themselves further down the road after reaching some "great" deal with his adversaries.

 

Been down a similar road before....

 

Quote

 

• The Chinese telecoms company ZTE was previously blacklisted by the US government after it was discovered the company violated existing sanctions against North Korea and Iran.
• Eventually, the US eased sanctions against ZTE in exchange for a $1 billion fine, as well as a shake-up in management and allowing a US compliance team to oversee activities. The agreement wiped $3 billion off ZTE's market value.
• US sales of ZTE smartphones were also under threat, but negotiations finally led to a ban of ZTE devices only for US government contracts.

 

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/huawei-us-ban-similar-to-zte-us-ban-2019-5

 

[unamazedloso]

I sold 3 near new huawei phones yesterday and bought 3 samsungs.

Apparantely a lot of people are selling up huawei phones. Got 3000b for 40k worth of phones under 1yr old! 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

18 minutes ago, unamazedloso said:

I sold 3 near new huawei phones yesterday and bought 3 samsungs.

Apparantely a lot of people are selling up huawei phones. Got 3000b for 40k worth of phones under 1yr old! 

 

Why do that? 

 

From everything I've read, even if the U.S. sticks to its current ban, it's not really going to have a major effect on existing / already sold Huawei mobile devices. They'll continue to have access to Google Play, Facebook etc.... although updates to the OS and security and such would end up being slower, because they'd be coming from Huawei instead of Google.

 

It's the FUTURE models that the big change would come. Again, assuming the U.S. sticks to the current ban, at some point the current stock of already produced and licensed Huawei products will be sold out and gone. And then, it would be the newly manufactured units from now onward that would no longer have access to the various U.S. apps and services.

 

I have a couple year old Huawei Android tablet. Works perfectly fine, and all the apps on it are going to continue working, AFAIK...  I have no problems planning to use it in the future (as long as everything I write on it will be in the Klingon language and undecipherable by Huawei's China overlords...  )

 

[Katipo]

NBTC Secretary General Thakorn Tanthasit :"confirming that Thai people can still use current Huawei phones, though users may not be able to use United States’ applications on Huawei’s future phone models."

 

I'm going to go out on a limb and and say Mr. Sec Gen doesn't have a clue about what he talks. Huawei phones, including current ones, will indeed be blocked from using/upgrading 'US applications', applications which are essential for the functioning of the phone. SO what this means is that Huawei phones will unlikely get any future Android updates, from P to Q for example. More critically, they will not be able to use futrure versions of 'Google Play Services' which is responsible for, amongst other things:

 

• Synchronising your contacts
• Managing your location to provide precise coordinates using little power
• Facilitating offline searches
• Improve the performance of game’s graphics engines
• Control Google’s voice services
• Prioritize and send floating notifications

So in essence, without Google Play Services, your smartphone becomes a dumb phone, with severly limited capabilities.

I read an article yesterday which stated that shops in Singapore and the Philippines has seen a 4 fold increase in people trading in their Huawei phones in the last few days. Not just older models, but brand new ones like the P30 range. Shops are no longer accepting Huawei as trade ins as they are concerned they won't be able to shift them again. Shops are also no longer ordering new Huawei phones for the same reason. Japenese telcos KDDI and Ymobile have delayed the launch of the P30 Lite as well. Nothing of this bodes well for Huawei. Their mobile division is taking a huge hit.

Finally, the article stated that many re-sellers were looking online to 'overseas buyers in hopes that they are less aware of current events'.... looking at you Thailand, if you believe Thakorn's spin.

[connda]

20 hours ago, webfact said:

NBTC Secretary-General: Thailand unaffected by curbs on Huawei

Until these global 'trade wars' precipitate a global depression then the Great Unwind begins which will make 1997 look like a cake-walk.  Stand-by.

 

However, I'll venture a prediction as to what comes out the other side of World Trade War One <which hopefully doesn't become World War Three>.

The world is about to undergo a massive paradigm shift which will see the end of globalization and the beginning of tightly bound regional trade unions which once they are formed and functioning, will totally cut off any reliance on the United States.  The core of those trade unions will be all the "crappy little countries that the US throws against the wall to show it means business" along with Russia (which is the nuclear counter-balance to the US) and specifically China which is economically on par with the US.  Yeah, World Trade War One is going to hurt everyone, but out of the ashes will rise a brave new world.

 

 

[owenm]

I agree 100% Katipo in your summation.. I am an existing Huawei P10 Plus owner.. A fantastic phone but my worries are in 3, 6 or 12 months time that without essential Google Play Store updates that my phone will become a dinosaur!! FB, Google maps, Instagram, Google photos stored in the cloud and YouTube could all become obsolete on my phone.. 

 

Unless USA comes to some future agreement with Huawei to reverse the ban with Google services and Microsoft.. Time will tell.. 

[boonrawdcnx]

Do they have any idea what they are talking about?
They do realize that Google has cut off Huawei’s Android license yes?

Their phones will be more or less useless unless you want a “Chinese Communist” phone like in China where you are cut off from most foreign services and Apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Line e.g because the repressive government their decides what you are allowed to have or not!

Huawei is now restricted to using the Android Open Source Project cutting the company off from critical Google apps and services that consumers outside of China expect on Android devices. That also means Huawei will only be able to push security updates for Android once they’re made available in AOSP, assuming the company uses its own update system. It’s not clear yet how this will affect the full range of Android integrations that Huawei depends on - basically forget their phones nobody will buy them anymore.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[johng]

3 minutes ago, boonrawdcnx said:

Their phones will be more or less useless unless you want a “Chinese Communist” phone like in China where you are cut off from most foreign services and Apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Line e.g because the repressive government their decides what you are allowed to have or not!

I hope this encourages Huawei  to reverse  their decision  on "unlocking bootloaders"  so then customers could flash custom ROMS and side load "Gapps"  and the phones would no longer be "useless"

[holy cow cm]

22 hours ago, webfact said:

NBTC Secretary General Thakorn Tanthasit says that the NBTC sought details

And another General in control. Don't figure they don't and won't give up control for running the country only for their own benefit. These Generals need to be kicked out. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

There's been a lot of confusing and conflicting reports in the media as to what the U.S. Huawei ban will mean for the Huawei devices already out in the market and used by owners... as opposed to future production.

 

Here Tom's Guide has what appears to be a succinct summary of what's likely involved:

 

Quote

 

Theoretically, existing Huawei devices out in the world would be able to retain all of Google’s necessary Android components, apps and the Play Store — but only until they’ve been updated. If Huawei is to push out a new software build in September for a device like the P30 Pro, it may have to forfeit everything that comes from Google.

So then the question becomes, does Huawei have to update its phones, if those updates will hugely cripple the experience its users are accustomed to? In the interest of security, one would argue the company must, but then precisely how valuable — or indeed possible at all — are future security updates if they can’t implement Google’s findings and patches?

 

Quote

Worst case scenario, your Huawei phone may stop getting security updates come mid-August, which would put you at increasing risk the longer flaws go unrectified. And if an update is pushed out after that point, be mindful that it could fundamentally alter your experience and limit your access to Google services.

 

https://www.tomsguide.com/us/how-huawei-google-ban-affects-you,news-30154.html