Google offers Huawei a brief reprieve by putting its Android suspension on hold
- Google has put on hold its suspension of Android services to Huawei.
- It follows the US Department of Commerce's decision to allow Huawei a 90-day license after blacklisting the company last week.
- A Google spokesman told Business Insider that the grace period will allow Google to "provide software updates and security patches to existing models for the next 90 days."
- It's good news for Huawei users who were panicked Google's suspension, with some asking their network operators if they could return their phones.
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Google has confirmed that its suspension of Android services to Chinese tech giant Huawei is on hold.
The move follows the US Department of Commerce decision to grant Huawei a licence of 90 days so it could help existing customers. Previously, the department had blacklisted Huawei by placing it on an entity list, forcing US companies to seek government permission before dealing with the company.
Following the blacklisting, Google announced on Monday that it had severed ties with Huawei over its Android operating system, which all Huawei phones use. The news panicked Huawei users, with some asking their network operators if they could return their phones, and sent Huawei scrambling to reassure users about plans for its own operating system.
But Google has followed the Department of Commerce in offering Huawei a reprieve until August 19. A source familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that Google had put the Android suspension on hold.
Google confirmed this in a statement to Business Insider. "Keeping phones up to date and secure is in everyone's best interests and this temporary license allows us to continue to provide software updates and security patches to existing models for the next 90 days," said a Google spokesman.
Huawei declined to comment on Google's plans.
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said the 90-day grace period is to give companies time to get their houses in order before cutting them off from Huawei.
"The Temporary General License grants operators time to make other arrangements and the Department space to determine the appropriate long term measures for Americans and foreign telecommunications providers that currently rely on Huawei equipment for critical services," he said. "In short, this license will allow operations to continue for existing Huawei mobile phone users and rural broadband networks."