Citing the misrouting of US Internet traffic, malicious hacking and control by the Chinese government, a group of US executive agencies are recommending the FCC revoke the license authorizing China Telecom to provide international telecommunications services to and from the United States.
The recommendation comes amid an escalation in tensions between the US and China over a host of issues, including trade, disagreements about the handling of the novel coronavirus, and hacking. Thursday's move comes as part of a review the FCC disclosed last year, when the agency
barred China Mobile Limited from the US market. The federal government has also designated both Huawei and ZTE as national security threats.
“The security of our government and professional communications, as well as of our most private data, depends on our use of trusted partners from nations that share our values and our aspirations for humanity,” John C. Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a
release. “Today’s action is but our next step in ensuring the integrity of America’s telecommunications systems.”
The state-owned China Telecom says it's the county's second-biggest mobile operator with about 336 million subscribers about 153 million wireline broadband subscribers, and about 111 million access lines. China Telecom Americas, the subsidiary that operates in the US, received authorization from the FCC in 2002, according to
this timeline. China Telecom Americas has had a compounded and impressive annual revenue growth rate of 68% since 2005, the timeline added.
