Supplier Realignment Prompts Supply Chain Anxiety
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Xilinx Inc. is planning a future that does not include Huawei Technologies, CEO Victor Peng told analysts last week.
The chip maker has not received the necessary approvals to ship products to the Chinese networking giant, which the U.S. government has deemed a security risk.
Victor Peng, Xilinx
Xilinx shipped $50 million worth of product to Huawei in its first fiscal (June) quarter -- just prior to U.S. trade restrictions imposed in May. “Considering the continued trade restrictions with Huawei and the uncertainty presented to our business, we believe it is prudent to remove all remaining revenue expectations related to Huawei from our fiscal 2020 outlook,” Peng said.
Huawei was placed on the United States “entities list” in May, restricting technology sales to the networking giant. Suppliers have been able to apply for special licenses that allow them to ship components to Huawei.
A Huawei-Xilinx breakup will significantly stress both companies and the global 5G supply chain. Huawei reportedly stockpiled U.S. components — including Xilinx FPGAs — in anticipation of the U.S. trade ban. Some industry observers believe that Huawei will soon exhaust the key components needed to manufacture 5G wireless devices.
Xilinx’s FPGA technology allows the reprogramming of 5G base stations by changing the code, even if the base station is already installed in a tower. Telecom companies value that flexibility with 5G because the technology is new and will probably require frequent adjustments over time. The Huawei trade ban increases the likelihood that Xilinx will be designed out of its 5G products.
Joe Madden, chief analyst of California-based research firm Mobile Experts, told The Washington Post that Huawei is running low on its stockpile of Xilinx FPGA chips.
"I predict that Huawei will use up Xilinx FPGA chips in November,” Madden told the Post, “when they will switch to their own products. But this may reduce the appeal of Huawei 5G devices to global buyers, because Huawei Technology may not be as advanced as Xilinx."
Huawei’s chips aren’t likely to be field programmable in the same way Xilinx’s are, he said.
Huawei says it will be fine--see more at EPSNews' sister publication EETimes.
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