US FCC Orders Halt to Broadband Services by Chines

US FCC Orders Halt to Broadband Services by Chinese Companies

The U.S. Federal Communications commission has issued an order barring U.S.-based units of Chinese telecommunication companies from offering mobile or fixed broadband services on U.S. soil. This directive was issued last week. The affected companies include China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom.

The FCC revealed that the Chinese companies have 60 days within which to comply with the order. It should be noted that the FCC has issued similar orders before, and those directives were backed by U.S. courts when the entities went to court on the matter.

FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel revealed that the FCC had definitive evidence that telecommunication companies from China were actively providing broadband services within the United States. The federal agency says its decision to ban such services was a result of existing concerns about national security. The FCC said those Chinese telcos are susceptible to being controlled, influenced and exploited by Chinese authorities.

Geoffrey Starks, a commissioner at the FCC, indicated that from the website of China Telecom, the company was offering data center, IP transit, broadband and collocation services through at least 26 internet Points of Presence (POPs). The FCC says such POPs pose national security threats since they are stationed at data centers. Starks added that such POPs routinely interconnect with various telecommunications networks and gain access to vital data centers. He urged a closer examination of the specific threats that such access by adversarial entities pose to U.S. data centers and data.

From 2022, the Federal Communication Commission has been taking a keen interest in analyzing the vulnerabilities that it believes threaten the integrity and security of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). The BGP is crucial for the worldwide routing system of the internet.

This recent directive marks the latest of the steps that the FCC has taken to restrict telecom carriers from China. It has previously taken action to restrict Chinese companies’ access to undersea cables that handle internet traffic.

Previous actions include denying approval to telecommunication equipment made by ZTE and Huawei Technologies. Both are Chinese equipment manufacturers. Other companies were also affected by this action since the FCC categorized their equipment as presenting a significant risk to the United States’ national security.

Many companies will continue to monitor how this situation develops as well as any retaliatory actions that the authorities in Beijing may take in response to the latest actions of the FCC against Chinese companies. Companies such as FingerMotion Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGR) that have an interest in the telecommunications industry in China are likely to study this situation closely to see any potential effects it may have on their strategic direction.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to FingerMotion Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGR) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/FNGR

Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the ChineseWire website applicable to all content provided by CW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.ChineseWire.com/Disclaimer