The FCC blocks China Unicom from the US telecom market
“There has been growing evidence – and with it a growing concern ̵[ads1]1; that Chinese state-owned carriers pose a real threat to the security of our telecommunications networks,” she added.
China Unicom said in a written response to CNN Business that it had complied with “relevant US laws and regulations” for the past two decades, and that the FCC had acted “without any justifiable reason and without the means of a fair trial”.
China Unicom added that it “would act proactively to protect the rights and interests of the company and its customers.”
The FCC has also initiated similar recall cases against two other Chinese companies, Pacific Networks Corp. and ComNet (USA) LLC.
In recent years, Congress has instructed the FCC to launch a program to “rip and replace” network equipment that experts worry could allow foreign telecom companies – or Chinese officials directly – to monitor sensitive US communications. The FCC has also sanctioned companies such as Huawei and ZTE in connection with these twofold concerns.
China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom are all state-owned enterprises and dominate China’s telecom market.
– Laura He from CNN Business contributed to this report.
