FCC says ZTE poses threat to U.S. national security

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Tuesday it had rejected a petition from ZTE Corp asking the agency to reconsider its decision designating the Chinese company as a threat to US national security from communications networks.

The FCC announced in June that it had officially named China’s Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE as threats, a statement that bars U.S. companies from tapping into an $8.3 billion government fund to buy equipment from companies.

ZTE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last week, the FCC said it was extending the deadline for responding to Huawei’s petition until Dec. 11 “to fully and adequately review the large file.”

In May 2019, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment manufactured by companies posing national security risks, and the administration added Huawei to its commercial blacklist.

On December 10, the FCC will vote on rules to help operators remove and replace equipment from businesses that pose risks to network security.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said last week that the commission would address two unspecified national security issues at its December 10 meeting.

In April, the FCC revealed that it could shut down the US operations of three state-controlled Chinese telecommunications companies: China Telecom, China Unicom and Pacific Networks Corp and its subsidiary ComNet (USA).

The nearly 20-year-old authorizations allow Chinese telecommunications companies to provide interconnection services for telephone calls between the United States and other countries.

Last week, the FCC said it was recovering codes from international signaling points assigned to China Telecom (Americas), saying it had determined that “the three codes are no longer in use.” China Telecom did not immediately comment.

Last month, the FCC asked the Justice Department to determine whether China Unicom’s U.S. operations posed security risks.

In May 2019, the FCC voted unanimously to deny another Chinese state-owned telecommunications company, China Mobile, the right to provide U.S. services, citing concerns that China could use to carry out service. espionage against the US government.