US bans Chinese telecom devices, citing ‘national security’ | Telecommunications News

The decision by the US Federal Communications Commission includes devices from Huawei, ZTE and other manufacturers.

The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that it is banning telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from major Chinese brands, including Huawei and ZTE, citing an “unacceptable risk to national security.”

The five-member FCC said Friday it voted unanimously to approve new rules that would block the importation or sale of targeted products.

“Our unanimous decision marks the first time in FCC history that we have voted to prohibit the authorization of communications and electronic equipment based on national security concerns,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said Friday.

He added that the movement has “broad and bipartisan support” among the leadership of the US Congress.

USA security officials have warned Equipment from Chinese brands such as Huawei could be used to jam fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks and collect sensitive information.

The ban is the latest move in a years-long push to “keep America’s networks safe” by identifying and banning devices deemed a security threat, the FCC said.

Friday’s initiative also includes banning Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company and Dahua Technology Company.

Huawei declined to comment to the Reuters news agency. ZTE, Dahua, Hikvision and Hytera did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Huawei and the Chinese government have long denied it espionage allegations and He denounced the US sanctions Against Chinese technologies.

But in 2019, then-US President Donald Trump signed the Secure and Reliable Communications Networks Act, which established criteria for identifying communications services that Washington believed could pose a risk to national security.

Services designated as threats under that law were subject to the Secure Equipment Act of 2021, signed into law by President Joe Biden.

That action formed the basis of Friday’s announcement. It directed the FCC to those companies “to adopt rules clarifying that it will not review or issue new equipment licenses in the future.”

At the time, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida applauded Biden’s decision.

“The Chinese Communist Party will stop at nothing to exploit our laws and undermine our national security,” he said in a statement. “This legislation fixes a dangerous loophole in our law by curtailing attempts to break into our telecommunications networks.”

One of the world’s largest telecommunications equipment makers, Huawei has had a contentious relationship with the US and its allies, facing some of the toughest sanctions ever imposed on a single US company.

Huawei Executive Meng Wanzhou He was arrested and detained in Canada for nearly three years after the US Department of Justice accused him of trying to violate sanctions for trying to do business with Iran.

He was charged and convicted of bank and wire fraud US extradition proceedings In a Canadian court, sparking a diplomatic crisis between Canada, the US and China. Meng was released and returned to China in 2021.

Earlier this year, Canada joined the US Banning Huawei 5G wireless networks

Another FCC commissioner, Geoffrey Starks, described Friday’s ban as a precautionary measure that will pay dividends in the future.

“By stopping equipment identified as a threat to the United States from entering our markets, we significantly reduce the risk that it will be used against us,” Starks said in a statement. “We also reduce the possibility of having to rip out and replace that equipment in the future. Ultimately, if it can’t be allowed, it can’t be deployed.”