WASHINGTON—The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Thursday it begun the process of revoking China Telecom’s authorization to operate in the United States as it took further steps to crack down on China’s role in U.S. telecommunications. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai noted several U.S. government agencies had recommended the revocation citing national security concerns. Pai said there are “significant concerns” that China Telecom will be forced to comply with the Chinese regime’s requests for information, including communications intercepts. China Telecom, the largest Chinese telecommunications company, has had authorization to provide telecommunications services for nearly 20 years. China Telecom Americas did not have an immediate comment. The FCC in April had warned it might shut down the U.S. operations of three state-controlled Chinese telecommunications companies, citing national security risks, including China Telecom Americas as well as China Unicom Americas, Pacific Networks Corp, and its wholly owned subsidiary ComNet (USA) LLC. …
FCC Begins Process of Halting China Telecom US Operations
