Hauwei to use mapping tech from Dutch company TomTom

Chinese tech giant Huawei in recent times had received a blow from the United States after it as blacklisted. The company was stopped from using any tech that was made by the US based companies. Since then the Huawei has been striving hard to find new ways of survival. After a while, it seems like the company has learnt to swim by itself. Now that Huawei can no more use Google Maps on its devices, the company has now joined hands with a Dutch based location provider known as TomTom that will allow it to use its maping service. With the new deal cracked, the Chinese giant will also be able to use other information like traffic status and its navigation software.

The recent deal between Huawei and the Dutch company has hinted that the Chinese giant is now taking steps to survive and also minimize the effects of the recent US trade ban. It was in 2019, when the US government had blacklisted Huawei on the ‘Entity List’. The blacklisting took effect soon and prevented the US entities to trade with Hauwei, unless they had a special license. This was done by the US government, keeping in mind the national security.

As a result, Huawei could not even access the popular operating system Android. Not just Android, many other Google based services like Google Maps and proprietary services were taken back and prevented the Chinese giant from using them. Since long, the company had depended on the US based softwares for its smartphones. At the same time, a ban from the US government does not seem like a big deal as services of Google are even otherwise banned in China.

The move by the US was also a warning sign that other companies relying on the US software could also someday be kicked out and should be self reliant. For now it is unclear on how long Huawei will remain in the said ‘Entity List’.

Photo Credits: GSM Arena