Following Huawei, This Chinese Telecommunications Company Is Blocked In The US

China Telecom Americas suffered a similar fate with Huawei. (photo: doc. Unsplash)

JAKARTA - China Telecom Americas has suffered a similar fate with Huawei, where the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has blocked the company from the United States (US) market.

Not without reason, the FCC cites national security concerns, where US subsidiaries of Chinese state-owned companies are subject to exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government.

"Telecommunications companies are very likely to be forced to comply with the Chinese government's demands without adequate legal procedures and subject to independent judicial oversight," the FCC said.

"National security is an integral part of the Commission's responsibility to advance the public interest, and today's actions carry out that mission to protect the country's telecommunications infrastructure from potential security threats."

Citing Ars Technica, Wednesday, October 27, both Democrats and Republicans have agreed to revoke and terminate China Telecom's Section 214 authority to operate in the US.

"(The order) directs China Telecom Americas to cease any domestic or international service it provides pursuant to Section 214 authorities within 60 days of the order being issued," the FCC said.

The FCC began its review of China Telecom after the Department of Justice (DOJ) suggested terminating the company's authorization in April 2020. The DOJ said at the time that China Telecom had failed to comply with the 2007 agreement.

"They made inaccurate statements to US government authorities about where China Telecom keeps US records, raising questions about who has access to them," the DOJ said.

In response, the FCC stated that China Telecom Americas' conduct and representation to commissions and other US government agencies demonstrates a lack of transparency, eroding the basic level of trust required from telecom operators.

The China Telecom Americas website mostly advertises telecommunications and networking services for businesses, although the US mobile market is dominated by Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. Since China Telecom Americas has been blocked, the FCC asks users of those services to change or switch to another cellular service.

For information, Huawei began to be blacklisted by the US in 2019. It is believed that US claims about Huawei are a cover for the Chinese government. The FCC also declared Huawei a national security threat and ordered US carriers to replace any network equipment from the company.