FCC terminates China Telecom’s ability to provide US services

The United States Federal Communications Commission (‘FCC’) says it has adopted an order ‘ending China Telecom (Americas) Corporation’s ability to provide domestic interstate and international telecommunications services within the United States.’

China Telecom must discontinue its services within 60 days.

The FCC said that the decision is partly driven by China Telecom Americas’ failure to rebut serious concerns of the Executive Branch ‘about its continued presence in the United States’ and that it finds that ‘the present and future public interest, convenience, and necessity is no longer served by China Telecom Americas’ retention of its section 214 authority [under which it provides services.]’

The order, it says, finds that ‘China Telecom Americas, a U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned enterprise, is subject to exploitation, influence, and control by the Chinese government and is highly likely to be forced to comply with Chinese government requests without sufficient legal procedures subject to independent judicial oversight,’ and ‘Given the changed national security environment with respect to China since the Commission authorized China Telecom Americas to provide telecommunications services in the United States almost two decades ago…China Telecom Americas’ ownership and control by the Chinese government raise significant national security and law enforcement risks by providing opportunities for China Telecom Americas, its parent entities, and the Chinese government to access, store, disrupt, and/or misroute U.S. communications, which in turn allow them to engage in espionage and other harmful activities against the United States.’

It also finds that ‘China Telecom Americas’ conduct and representations to the Commission and other U.S. government agencies demonstrate a lack of candor, trustworthiness, and reliability that erodes the baseline level of trust that the Commission and other U.S. government agencies require of telecommunications carriers given the critical nature of the provision of telecommunications service in the United States.

’https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-revokes-china-telecom-americas-telecom-services-authority