FCC may ban China Mobile from US market

The chairman of the US FCC has urged the agency to reject China Mobile’s applications to provide telecom services in the US market on national security grounds, in the latest salvo in the telecom trade war between China and the US.

Federal Communications chairman Ajit Pai has released a statement urging his fellow FCC executives to vote for an order that would deny China Mobile’s application during the scheduled vote at its May Open Meeting.

“Safeguarding our communications networks is critical to our national security. After reviewing the evidence in this proceeding, including the input provided by other federal agencies, it is clear that China Mobile’s application to provide telecommunications services in our country raises substantial and serious national security and law enforcement risks,” Pai’s statement reads.

“Therefore, I do not believe that approving it would be in the public interest. I hope that my colleagues will join me in voting to reject China Mobile’s application. ”

The draft order proposed by Pai would stipulate that China Mobile has not demonstrated that its application is in the public interest, but more importantly it would assert that “China Mobile is vulnerable to exploitation, influence, and control by the Chinese government.”

China Mobile first applied back in September 2011 for a license to provide facilities based and resale telecommunications services between the US and overseas destinations.

After a long review of the application, agencies within the US government’s Executive Branch recommended in July 2018 that China Mobile deny that application, citing “substantial national security and law enforcement risks that cannot be resolved through a voluntary mitigation agreement.”

The proposed objection comes the month after Chinese vendor Huawei revealed it was taking the US government to court over an order banning federal agencies from buying its products due to national security fears.