The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Oct. 26 voted unanimously to bar a leading Chinese state-owned telecommunication firm’s U.S. arm from operating in the country.
China Telecom Americas, a subsidiary of China Telecom, now has 60 days to discontinue services after having operated in the United States for two decades.
The FCC voted 4-0 to terminate China Telecom America’s license to provide domestic and international services within the United States. The regulator said the firm “is subject to exploitation, influence, and control by the Chinese government” and is “highly likely” to comply with Beijing’s orders.
The decision concluded more than a year of U.S. scrutiny into the Chinese telecom provider, which began last April during the Trump era when the Department of Justice and other federal agencies called for the FCC to bar China Telecom’s U.S. operations.
The Justice Department at the time found that China Telecom had made inaccurate statements about where the company stored its U.S. records, which raised questions about who had access to those records. The department also said the firm had made inaccurate public statements about the company’s cybersecurity practices, drawing concerns about its compliance with U.S. cybersecurity and privacy laws.
Signage is seen at the headquarters of the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, on Aug. 29, 2020. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)
In March, the FCC began efforts to revoke authorization for three other state-controlled Chinese telecommunication firms, including China Unicom Americas, Pacific Networks, and its wholly-owned subsidiary ComNet, saying the companies “have failed at this stage to dispel serious concerns” about their U.S. authorizations.
The FCC on Tuesday highlighted China Telecom’s ownership by the state, which it said would give Beijing authorities opportunities to “access, store, disrupt, and/or misroute U.S. communications, ”