SoftBank Group Corp.'s Japanese telecom unit has selected Nokia Oyj and Ericsson AB as vendors for its next-generation wireless network, excluding longtime supplier Huawei Technologies Co.
SoftBank Corp. named Nokia as a strategic partner for its 5G rollout and Ericsson as a supplier of radio access network equipment, the companies said in separate releases. Huawei, which together with ZTE Corp. was a 4G vendor for the Japanese company, wasn't selected despite participating in earlier 5G trials. SoftBank declined to make comment further.
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has targeted Huawei for months, first encouraging allies to ban the Chinese company's equipment from their networks and then putting Huawei on an export blacklist that prohibits it from buying American software and components.