US in bid to bar Chinese firms from certifying wireless equipment
WASHINGTON: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is moving to prevent Huawei, ZTE and other foreign companies deemed to pose United States national security concerns from certifying wireless equipment, said officials on Wednesday.
The FCC plans to vote this month on a bipartisan proposal to ensure that telecommunications certification bodies and test labs that certify wireless devices for the US market are not influenced by companies posing security concerns.
Last week, the FCC denied the ability of the test lab of Huawei to participate in the equipment authorisation programme.
This new proposal would permanently prohibit Huawei and other entities on an FCC list of companies posing national security risks “from playing any role in the equipment authorisation programme while also providing the FCC and its national security partners the necessary tools to safeguard this important process,” said the agency.
FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency “must ensure that our equipment authorisation programme and those entrusted with administering it can rise to the challenge posed by persistent and ever-changing security and supply chain threats”.
Huawei’s recognition as an accredited lab was set to expire on Tuesday but the FCC denied the Huawei lab’s request for an extension of its recognition. Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The FCC in November 2022 banned approvals of new telecommunications equipment from Huawei and ZTE as well as telecom and video surveillance equipment from Hytera Communications Corp, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co.