Huawei stokes US fear with low-cost networking gear that works

In the sparsely settled wildlands of eastern Oregon, Huawei Technologies Co is hardly the big bad wolf of China that US officials have depicted. It’s a lifeline to the 21st Century. 

China’s largest tech company makes high-quality networking gear that it sells to rural telecommunications operators for 20% to 30% less than its competitors do, says Joseph Franell, chief executive officer and general manager of Eastern Oregon Telecom in Hermiston, a watermelon-growing hub of 18,000 people.