Analysis: ZTE To Accept U.S. Settlement And Pay Hefty Fines In Survival Bid

Forward note: This analysis is part of a broader continuing study on the key players of the telecom sector, exclusively available to Atherton Research clients. Click here for more information.The agony is almost over for ZTE.

By the end of March, Atherton Research expects the Chinese equipment manufacturer to plead guilty of criminal charges, for violating U.S. sanctions restricting sales of U.S. technology to Iran, in order to save itself from certain death.The company is accused of setting up shell companies to sell equipment containing U.S. content to Iran’s largest telecom operator (TCI).

For the past year, the world's fourth supplier of telecom equipment - behind Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia - has been placed on a list of entities that U.S. companies were banned to work with without an export license, hindering the Chinese company's ability to procure essential hardware (but not software) from the likes of Broadcom, Qualcomm or Intel.