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US-China relations
China

China Telecom America’s operating licence revoked by US FCC, citing national security

  • The order gives China Telecom Americas 60 days to halt US domestic and international service
  • China Unicom Americas and Citic Group’s ComNet (USA) are also under review by the US communications watchdog

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China Telecom’s US subsidiary has lost its authorisation to operate in the United States. Photo: Bloomberg
Robert Delaneyin WashingtonandJacob Fromerin Washington

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday voted to order China Telecom Americas to stop providing telecommunication service in the United States, citing national security concerns.

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The move, announced at the start of a virtual open meeting, follows the FCC’s issuance of a “show cause” order last year to the subsidiary of one of China’s largest state-owned firms, and gives the unit 60 days to end its domestic and international service in the US. The order obliged the company to explain why the US government’s national security concerns were unfounded or risk losing its operating licence.

“China Telecom Americas’ ownership and control raised significant national security and law enforcement risks, providing opportunities for China Telecom Americas, its parent entities and the Chinese government to access, store, disrupt and/or … misroute US communications, allowing espionage and other harmful activities against the United States,” said Gabrielle Kim, a legal adviser in the telecommunications and analysis division of the FCC’s international bureau.

“This is not a decision we take lightly,” said Jessica Rosenworcel, who leads the FCC. Photo: Reuters
“This is not a decision we take lightly,” said Jessica Rosenworcel, who leads the FCC. Photo: Reuters
Acting FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel, whom President Joe Biden nominated on Tuesday to permanently fill the post, said in the hearing that the Chinese company “has not been forthright in its representations” to the agency.
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The FCC “has a long history of working to open American markets to foreign telecommunications companies when doing so is in the public interest”, she said. “We recognise that not every connection is consistent with the national security interest of the United States.”

“Some countries may seek to exploit our openness to advance their own national interests,” Rosenworcel said, citing directives from the departments of State, Defence and Commerce, as well as the Office of the US Trade Representative last year to terminate China Telecom’s US operations.

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