The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday told US telephone companies to report details on their use of equipment from Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and ZTE Corp (中興), Chinese equipment makers accused by US President Donald Trump’s administration of posing a risk of espionage.
The action is the next step in the FCC’s response to warnings about the Chinese companies, which make parts vital to operating communications networks.
The data could help inform further “potential actions” and design a reimbursement program for service providers that might need to remove and replace the gear, the FCC said in a news release.
Huawei equipment is cheaper than competitors’ and is popular with smaller, rural US telecommunications providers, which often rely on government subsidies.
The FCC in November last year barred subsidy recipients from buying equipment made by carriers such as Huawei and ZTE.
The most recent action would help “to protect our networks and protect the American people,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in the release.
Carriers receiving subsidies must report to the FCC by April 22, the agency said.
The agency is considering making final its initial designation that Shenzhen-based Huawei and ZTE pose a national security threat. The agency also has proposed requiring the removal of existing equipment from providers deemed to pose a threat.
US officials, diplomats and lawmakers have said that Huawei and ZTE pose an espionage threat, especially as networks are transformed into faster 5G systems that can share masses of information quickly.
The campaign has stumbled, with Britain and the EU recently rebuffing pleas from top aides to Trump, and deciding that Huawei could play a role in their 5G networks.
Huawei and ZTE have denied they pose a risk.
Huawei in a Feb. 3 filing said that the FCC’s actions were designed to implement a campaign “by certain government officials” that want to “single out Huawei for burdensome and stigmatizing restrictions, put it out of business in the United States, and impugn its reputation.”
The Rural Wireless Association in a filing made the same day told the FCC that small carriers might be forced to shut service in some markets if they cannot spend subsidy funding on networks that include the equipment.
The trade group said that some older, slower networks should be allowed to operate until they wear out.
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