F.C.C. Joins Push to Limit China’s Telecom Reach<br />By STEVE LOHRMARCH 26, 2018<br />The Federal Communications Commission is joining the Trump administration, Congress and other government agencies<br />that have targeted Huawei, China’s giant telecommunications equipment maker, as a national security risk.<br />rule would prohibit carriers from using money from the Universal Service Fund to buy gear from companies deemed to pose national security risks.<br />The agency also said it had not yet determined how it would identify companies that posed a risk to telecom systems, particularly as spying tools.<br />In its military spending authorization, Congress has prohibited the Pentagon from buying<br />network equipment from either Huawei or ZTE, another Chinese equipment maker.<br />Ajit Pai, chairman of the commission, on Monday proposed a rule to tighten restrictions<br />on companies building internet infrastructure in the United States.<br />Part of the rule’s impact may be to further crimp Huawei’s meager sales in America<br />by potentially affecting some deals with small and rural carriers, analysts said.<br />Instead, it says it would apply to any telecom supplier or subcontractor defined as a security risk.
