China's Huawei became the largest telecom manufacturer in the world with a reported gross revenue of $16.1 billion in the first half of 2012. Previous number one, Ericsson, reported $15.25 billion in sales during the same period.
Huawei, prounounced WAH-way, relatively unknown in America, has made a name for itself outside of China by participating in nearly 50% of Europe's planned 4G networks, and by manufacturing popular mobile handsets. It has been over a year since Huawei released IDEOS, its Android-powered smartphone that has helped change the mobile landscape in Africa, largely due to its $80 price tag.
Huawei's success outside of China and Europe has so far been limited. It has come under the scrutiny of several countries' governments, including India, Australia and America, because of its close ties with the PLA and suspicions of Chinese spying through its telecom equipment. In the US, a congressional committee is looking closely at Huawei to confirm or deny these allegations. Despite this investigation, Huawei has released three smartphones for the American market in just the last week; the myTouch & myTouch Q for T-Mobile and the Ascend Q for Cricket customers.
