The Federal Communications Commission voted to revoke China Unicom (Americas) Operations Ltd.'s national and international operating authority.
The decision follows a broad effort from the agency to clamp down on foreign tech and telecom entities that the U.S. has deemed threats to national security.
Voting unanimously at its Jan. 27 open meeting, the commission cited security threats and growing concerns around Chinese state-owned carriers posing a threat to U.S. telecom networks.
The agency first opened an investigation into China Unicom Americas in March 2021. After the company failed multiple times to make its case about the security of its operations and after input from national security authorities, the commission deemed it necessary to take action, explained FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. China Unicom has been operating in the U.S. for the past 20 years.
"We believe it is clear the public interest is no longer served by China Unicom Americas' retention of its authority," Rosenworcel said. The Chinese telecom company must discontinue its services in the U.S. within 60 days, she added.
"China Unicom Americas simply cannot be trusted" to operate in the U.S., Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks commented.
The agency in October 2021 voted to revoke China Telecom Americas Corp.'s domestic and international authorizations, citing the U.S. subsidiary of the Chinese enterprise as a risk to national security as it would "highly likely" comply with Chinese government requests.
Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr has called for Chinese drone-maker DJI Technology Inc. to be added to the agency's threat list this past October. The Commerce Department last year placed DJI on its entity list, citing the drone company's role in the abuse of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in China's Xinjiang region.
Carr suggested China Unicom be added to the FCC's list of companies deemed to pose a threat, better known as the "covered list."
The agency in 2020 initiated a crackdown on mainly Chinese companies, designating major telecom carriers including Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and ZTE Corp. as national security threats in a move prohibiting the use of an agency subsidy fund to buy or support equipment or services provided by the companies. Although the 2020 order blocked U.S. companies from using federal funds to buy equipment from Huawei, ZTE and others, it did not limit purchases made with private funding.
At the FCC's open meeting this past June, agency leadership approved a notice to close that loophole.
The commission's efforts were affirmed when President Joe Biden signed the Secure Equipment Act into law in November 2021, which dictated the agency must establish rules stating it will no longer approve or authorize threatening equipment.
The commission is also overseeing an ongoing reimbursement program established under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, which aims to help U.S. network providers remove equipment made by foreign suppliers believed to pose a threat, including equipment from Huawei or ZTE.
When asked by S&P Global Market Intelligence in a press call if the FCC plans to expand its crackdown on dangerous tech and telecom companies outside of mainland China, Rosenworcel did not mention specific nations or bad actors, but said the commission's decisions are made with the coordination of national security authorities and will continue to operate with their guidance going forward.