On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission officially designated telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE as threats to national security.
“With today’s orders, and based on the overwhelming weight of evidence, the Office has designated Huawei and ZTE as national security risks to America’s communications networks and to our future 5G,” said the president of The FCC, Ajit Pai, in a statement Tuesday. “Both companies have close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese military apparatus, and both companies are widely subject to Chinese law that requires them to cooperate with the country’s intelligence services.”
By designating Huawei and ZTE as threats to U.S. national security, the FCC prohibits telecommunications providers from using government subsidy money through the $ 8.3 billion Universal Service Fund to purchase equipment from companies for their networks. The FCC voted unanimously to prevent telecommunications from using federal funds to buy Huawei equipment last November, but the final order went into effect on Tuesday.
Huawei and ZTE did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, both companies have repeatedly denied that they are threats to US national security.
The FCC’s move to prevent telecommunications from using USF funds to buy equipment from Huawei and ZTE could make it harder for smaller companies to provide affordable services.
In recent years, the federal government has called for Chinese-linked telecommunications companies like Huawei and ZTE to be expelled from the US over espionage and national security concerns. The Commerce Department placed Huawei on its Entity List in May 2019 and recently amended that ban to allow the company to help define standards for 5G deployment, according to TechCrunch. The Trump administration also moved to ban government contractors from using the equipment in 2018.
