Telstra has halted all of the Telstra-branded ZTE mobile phones and portable wireless hotspot as of today. The news follows ZTE's announcement that it is shutting down global operations in the face of sanctions levied by the US government.
ZTE is responsible for manufacturing many of Telstra's cheaper smartphone options, as well as its 4G modems. Notably, this means Telstra no-longer has a rugged device in its line-up.
American companies are no longer able to do business with ZTE, which prevents it from using Qualcomm mobile processors and the Android operating system for up to seven years, both of which it depends on for its smartphone business. The orders come as a result of ZTE violating sanction laws by selling US-made technology to Iran and North Korea.
ZTE says it is in talks with the US to negotiate a reversal of the ban.
Locally, Telstra head of innovation Michele Garra says the decision to cease sales of ZTE-made devices was difficult but necessary.
"We are working with our device partners to source alternative models as quickly as possible to help meet the needs of customers," said Garra. "We want to make sure any device we offer customers is available through all of our stores.
"We are hopeful that ZTE will be able to reach a resolution to this matter soon so that we can recommence selling Telstra-branded ZTE devices."
While there is no current impact to Telstra-branded ZTE devices, Garra says the company will contact phone and portable hotspot owners if this changes. The standard warranty process for these devices still applies.
Telstra will no longer sell the following products:
- Telstra Flip 2
- Telstra Tough 4
- Telstra Tough 5
- Telstra Tough Max 2
- Telstra 4GX Enhanced
- Telstra 4GX Premium
- Telstra Flip 2
- Telstra Lite
- Telstra Lite Smart
- Telstra 4GX Smart
- Telstra Smart Plus
- Telstra 4GX Plus
- Telstra 4GX HD
- Telstra Easycall 4
- Telstra Slim Plus
- Telstra Buzz 4GX
- Telstra T96
- Telstra Tempo
- Telstra Cruise
- Telstra 4GX Wi-Fi
- Telstra 4GX Wi-Fi Plus
- Telstra Pre-Paid 4GX Wi-Fi
Looking forward, Taiwanese chip manufacturer MediaTek has received a permit to sell mobile processors to ZTE. While this provides ZTE with an alternative to Qualcomm processors, Android may be harder to replace. The open source nature of Android means ZTE could fork the operating system, but the Google software stack - including the Play Store - is unavailable to ZTE as part of the ban.
Alex Choros
Related Articles
