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FCC VOTES TO BAN MAJOR CHINESE WIRELESS CARRIERS FROM U.S.
- By The Financial District
- Mar 18, 2021
- 2 min read
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is moving to bar China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. and ComNet from the US, calling the Chinese telecommunications carriers a security risk controlled by the Beijing government, Todd Shields reported for Bloomberg News.
The action against two of China’s three major telecommunications operators was decided by a 4-0 vote by the agency. It continues a security crackdown that earlier touched Chinese gear makers Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. In 2019, the FCC barred China Mobile Ltd. from the U.S. market over national security concerns.
ComNet, a subsidiary of Pacific Networks Corp., and the unit formally known as China Unicom (Americas) Operations Ltd. were told in April by the FCC to show they are independent from the Chinese government or face a proceeding that could result in ejection from the US market.
With its vote Wednesday, the FCC began those proceedings. China last year stupidly ordered companies to abide by the decisions of party units within their organizations, making them effectively state-controlled corporations.
It gave the US enough justification to kick these firms out of the US or to ban them from acquiring US technology or getting such technology from operators using American equipment.
“These companies are indirectly owned and controlled by the Chinese government,” Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said at the meeting.
“There is strong reason to believe that they will have to comply with requests from the Chinese government and advance its goals and policies.”
The companies may present evidence in proceedings set in motion by the vote, the FCC said in news releases.
Rosenworcel said US agencies had “recommended to us that there are no mitigation measures that would be able to address this problem.”
China Unicom said in a statement after the FCC action that it has operated in the US for nearly 20 years through a subsidiary that fully complies with the law. It said it “expects a thorough, fair and fact-based review of the company’s conduct by the FCC.”
