The United States expelled another Chinese state-owned telephone operator over national security issues in a context of increasing tension with Beijing, as part of of efforts to reduce Chinese access to American markets, potential espionage investments and Beijing military development.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has revoked the authorization for Pacific Networks Corp. to provide national services and international service under an order issued Wednesday.
The FCC cited “significant national security and law enforcement risks” that Pacific Networks may be monitoring or disrupting US communications. He said there was no steps that could eliminate these risks while the business was operating in United States.
President Joe Biden has extended efforts started under son predecessor, Donald Trump, to limit access ours technologyinvestment and markets for Chinese companies fear posing security risks or helping military development.
In October, a unit of China Telecom Ltd., one of the three of china main common carriers, was expelled by the FCC from the United States market on similar motives.
The FCC said in In 2019, it planned to revoke licenses granted two decades earlier to China Telecom and another operator public, China Unicom Ltd. It rejected a license application from the third operator, China Mobile Ltd.
The FCC also cited unspecified “conduct and representations” by Pacific Networks to regulators and Congress that “demonstrate a lack of reliability and dependability. »
Pacific Networks owns an American company, ComNet (USA) LLC, which provides international service, call cards and global SIM cards as well as network management, business telephone systems and website services, according to a US Senate report in 2020.
Companies ultimately belong to the cabinet of the Chinese cabinet main holding company, CITIC Group, which “may be able to access U.S. customer records,” the Senate Standing Subcommittee report says. on Investigations.
Companies are required by Chinese law to “support chinese governmentintelligence work“, says the report.
