Chinese mobile and networking firm ZTE has announced that it's shutting down, just weeks after being hit with a US Government ban.
The news was revealed in a press release which noted that, "the major operating activities of the Company have ceased".
ZTE's English-language homepage has also been stripped of much of its content, including its online store, apparently signifying that the company's days are numbered, at least in Western markets.
However, the company stated that it still has enough money to fulfill its commercial obligations, and is communicating with the US Government to try and modify or reverse the blocking order.
Blocked
ZTE's shutdown comes weeks after the company was hit with a ban by the US Department of Commerce which effectively ended its sales in the country, and which blocked ZTE from working with American suppliers.
This followed the revelation that ZTE had flouted a US order by shipping US-made components to Iran and North Korea in 2017. The company was forced to pay a $1.2 billion fine, fired four senior employees and hit 35 others with wage and bonus restrictions.
The UK Government also revealed that it had concerns about ZTE shortly after, with the National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC) issuing a warning to UK telcos urging them not to use ZTE equipment.
A letter leaked to the press revealed that the NCSC warned that ”the use of ZTE equipment or services within existing telecommunications infrastructure would present risk to UK national security that could not be mitigated effectively or practicably”.
TechRadar Pro has approached ZTE for comment, but for now the outlook looks bleak for the Chinese firm.
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