Ericsson Inc. (ERIC)

[@LaughinPaulRyan]

Nokia and Ericsson have both resisted more drastic proposals, such as government mandates for completely open telecom standards, according to people familiar with the matter. The European companies are instead pressing U.S. officials to support their operations through government-backed groups like the Export-Import Bank and U.S. International Development Finance Corp., also known as DFC.

Congress created the DFC in 2018 by merging three existing development agencies as an American answer to China'sOne Belt, One Road initiative, which serves Beijing's interests through infrastructure investments around the world.

DFC chief Adam Boehler said the agency normally prefers to direct investment dollars to U.S. companies but has authority to support non-domestic manufacturers. "We're not out to play defense," he said. "We're out to play offense."

Even if wireless carriers have access to a more diverse group of vendors, it is unclear whether carriers will buy from new entrants. Some American technology has appeared in networks abroad, such as in Japan and India, but many of those deployments are only a few months old.

U.S. startups including Airspan Networks Inc., Altiostar Networks Inc., Blue Danube Systems, Mavenir Systems Inc. and Parallel Wireless Inc. have developed new technologies. Their executives say they have made some progress but are nowhere close to securing the billions of dollars of orders American cellphone carriers steer each year toward the established hardware companies.

Some U.S. companies see an opening in a recently passed law ordering American carriers to remove "untrusted" Huawei equipment, a technology swap that could generate more than $1 billion in potential sales. The measure still lacks funding.

Altiostar strategy chief Thierry Maupilé said government officials are more familiar than ever with the details of cellular technology but he would like to see more coordination. Mavenir Chief Executive Pardeep Kohli said Washington's focus on countering Huawei has helped raise the U.S. company's profile, especially in the past year, though that interest hasn't yet translated into many pro-domestic policies.

"There's a lot of talk, but nothing concrete," he said.