On Thursday (January 27) local time, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 4 to 0 to revoke the 214 license of China Unicom’s subsidiary, citing so-called “national security concerns”.The decision means China Unicom (Americas) Operations Limited must stop all services in the United States within 60 days. The company provides mobile services, leased lines, Internet access and cloud services in the United States.
access:
6.3% off selected Microsoft Surface models, 100 off refurbished machines over 100
Visit the purchase page:
China Unicom self-operated flagship store
(Source: FCC)
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said, “There is growing evidence that Chinese operators pose a threat to the security of our telecommunications networks.” Rosenworcel also said the FCC will conduct “similar measures against Pacific Networks Corp. and its wholly-owned subsidiary ComNet.” program of”.
As one of the three major telecom operators in China, China Unicom has been operating compliantly in the United States for nearly 20 years. In a June 2020 filing, China Unicom said the company had always followed local rules and had no reason to be kicked out of the United States.
This is not the first time the United States has taken a shot at companies in the Chinese telecommunications industry. In October last year, the FCC decided to revoke China Telecom Americas’ authorization to operate in the United States. “The FCC’s decision is disappointing,” a spokesman for China Telecom America said.
At that time, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a statement saying, “The U.S. revoked its 214 license based on subjective speculation and suspicion without listing the specific illegal facts of our company, which does not conform to the image of the U.S. market-oriented country and damages the The legitimate rights and interests of consumers around the world, including U.S. users.”
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology added, “In recent years, the U.S. has repeatedly sanctioned Chinese companies on the grounds of national security, ignoring the facts. This is an unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies by abusing state power, and a serious breach of international economic and trade rules.”
Not only that, the FCC also rejected China Mobile’s application to conduct business in the United States in 2019, and the reason used at that time was also “may seriously endanger the national security of the United States.”