China Mobile taps Huawei's NearLink for smart home play

China Mobile is backing Huawei's NearLink short-range wireless technology as it looks to expand its role in China's smart home market. The operator expects to deploy 4 million NearLink units this year, positioning the technology as a way to connect a wide range of household devices under its own ecosystem.

NearLink is pitched as a low-power, low-latency alternative to existing short-range wireless options. By standardizing on Huawei's system, China Mobile aims to tighten its grip on how devices in Chinese homes connect and communicate, while giving hardware makers a clear signal about which connectivity stack the country's biggest mobile operator intends to support.