FCC definitively labels Huawei and ZTE as a threat to national security

The US telecom watchdog FCC has definitively labeled the Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE as a threat to national security. The FCC wants the government to provide funds so that providers can replace their equipment.

In November last year, the FCC already ruled that Huawei and ZTE are a national security threat, now that that has been finalized after the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, part of the FCC, confirmed that judgment.

Now that Huawei and ZTE have been officially classified as a national security threat, US carriers are no longer allowed to use funds from a support fund to buy equipment or services from those companies. According to Reuters, that is a fund of $8.3 billion.

The FCC points out in the announcement that it should not be forgotten that a lot of ‘unreliable equipment’ is already included in networks. The organization wants the US government to make money available to providers to remove and replace that equipment. That would cost about two billion dollars.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai says Huawei and ZTE have close ties to the Communist Party of China and must comply with Chinese law, requiring them to cooperate with Chinese intelligence agencies. The FCC has prepared documents on Huawei and ZTE to substantiate its opinion.

The US government has accused Chinese companies such as Huawei of espionage for some time. Those companies deny that. Huawei and ZTE have not yet commented on the FCC’s new ruling.