FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel added, “These new rules are an important part of our ongoing actions to protect the American people from national security threats involving telecommunications.” Huawei told Axios that it had no comment and ZTE had yet to respond. Huawei and ZTE are among the largest suppliers of telecom equipment worldwide. Last year, the FCC voted to spend $1.9 billion to rip out Huawei and ZTE equipment already being used by rural wireless firms.
Huawei’s new 5G equipment can no longer be imported into the U.S.
The FCC was given one year after the passage of the Secure Equipment Act last November to vote on the order to ban Huawei and ZTE gear. Besides the two familiar names to phone enthusiasts, three lesser-known Chinese firms are affected by the order. These companies include telecom firm Hytera Communications, surveillance equipment producer Dahua Technology, and video surveillance firm Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology.
Hikvision released a statement that says, “This decision by the FCC will do nothing to protect U.S. national security, but will do a great deal to make it more harmful and more expensive for U.S. small businesses, local authorities, school districts, and individual consumers to protect themselves, their homes, businesses and property.” The company will continue to do business with its U.S. customers “in full compliance” of U.S. regulations.
