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Us revokes China telecom operation rights, citing security concerns

Posted by on 2021/10/27. Filed under Breaking News,Headline News,International. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Citing national security concerns, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Oct.26 voted 4-0 to revoke its authorization for China Telecom’s U.S. subsidiary to operate in the United States, saying the company could be used by the Chinese government to harm U.S. security.

China Telecom is one of China’s largest telecom companies and has operated in the United States for nearly 20 years through its subsidiary, China Telecom Americas, but under FCC rules, the company had to stop providing service for 60 days starting October 26.

The FCC noted that as a state-owned Chinese company, China Telecom was subject to influence and control by the Chinese government and was “highly likely to be forced to submit to the Demands of the Chinese government without a legal process subject to independent judicial oversight”.

The FCC added that China Telecom America could allow the Chinese government to access, interfere with or deliberately divert U.S. communications, raising serious national security and law enforcement concerns.

“The FCC’s decision is disappointing and we plan to pursue all available options while continuing to serve our customers,” a Spokesperson for China Telecom Americas told Reuters.

China Telecom is one of the world’s leading providers of communications and information technology services, with operations in more than 110 countries, according to the company’s website. With offices in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, SAN Jose, Toronto and more, it specializes in providing businesses and organizations with trans-Pacific connectivity, including cloud services and data centers.

As of 2019, China Telecom served more than 335 million subscribers worldwide and provided services to Chinese government facilities in the United States, according to a US Senate report.

China Telecom is one of the world’s leading providers of communications and information technology services, with operations in more than 110 countries, according to the company’s website. With offices in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, SAN Jose, Toronto and more, it specializes in providing businesses and organizations with trans-Pacific connectivity, including cloud services and data centers.

It is the latest move by U.S. officials to crack down on Chinese telecommunications companies on national security grounds.

Last year, the FCC named Huawei and ZTE as threats to communications networks — making it harder for US companies to acquire equipment from them.

In 2019, the FCC revoked the license to operate in the United States from another Chinese communications giant, China Mobile, and it is still working on doing the same for two other Chinese government-backed companies, China Unicom Americas and Pacific Networks.

For all the companies, U.S. officials cited risks that the Chinese government could use them to spy on the U.S. or harm U.S. national interests.

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