Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson announced on Wednesday a plan to set up a smart factory in the US amid US pressure to move supply chains out of China.
The new factory, whose location has yet to be announced after discussion with state and local authorities, is expected to be operational early 2020, according to Ericsson. The factory will produce the company’s radios for 5G deployments.
Ericsson’s announcement of the new US factory comes amid the US’s global campaign against Chinese telecoms equipment vendor Huawei. The US has banned Huawei from its telecoms market, citing security concerns, and blacklisted the Chinese company which effectively bans US companies from doing business with Huawei.
Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reputed that the Trump administration was deliberating whether to require all 5G equipment to be made outside China.
Rural US telecom carriers are also reportedly negotiating with Ericsson and Nokia to replace their existing Chinese equipment, according to Reuters.