The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday voted to revoke the authorization for China Unicom’s (中國聯通) US unit to operate in the country, citing national security concerns.
The 4-0 vote to revoke the authority that had been granted in 2002 is the latest move by the US regulator to bar Chinese telecommunications carriers from the US because of national security concerns.
The order requires China Unicom Americas to end domestic interstate and international telecommunications services in the US within 60 days of the order’s publication.
Photo: AFP
A lawyer for the company released a statement from China Unicom that said the FCC decision was “without any justifiable grounds and without affording the required due process.
It added that China Unicom would “protect the rights and interests of the company and its customers.”
The FCC said China Unicom Americas is ultimately owned and controlled by the Chinese government and provides mobile virtual network operator services, international private leased circuit and Ethernet services, and other services such as IP transit and cloud computing that are resold in the US.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that since the approval, “the national security landscape has shifted and there has been mounting evidence — and with it, a growing concern — that Chinese state-owned carriers pose a real threat to the security of our telecommunications networks.”
The FCC said China Unicom’s “responses were incomplete, misleading, or incorrect.”
Rosenworcel said that last year the FCC published its first-ever list of communications equipment and services that pose an unacceptable risk to national security. This month, she wrote to the Commerce Department, the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and other agencies to update that list.
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said that China Unicom “can continue to offer data center services to American consumers” despite the revocation.
He said the FCC and Congress should examine this issue to determine whether the commission needed broader authority to address security concerns posed by the centers.
The FCC began making efforts in March last year to revoke the authorization for China Unicom, Pacific Networks Corp (太平洋網路) and its wholly owned subsidiary ComNet (信通).
In October, the FCC revoked the US authorization for China Telecom (Americas), saying that it “is subject to exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government.”
The Chinese failed to win an appeal of the decision.
In 2019, the FCC rejected China Mobile Ltd’s bid to provide US telecommunications services, citing national security risks.
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