US FCC Archives - Gizmochina

Huawei, ZTE face stricter restrictions as US lawmakers pass new bill

Sean — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 10:26:04 +0000

Lawmakers in the US have unanimously voted for a new bill that will tighten the reins around Huawei and ZTE. The US Senate voted earlier this week to bring to approve a legislation that will prevent the companies that are labelled as a security threat from gaining access to equipment licenses from US regulators.

According to an SCMP report, The new bill is the Secure Equipment Act, which is the latest move from the US government to restrict the Chinese telecommunications giant. This bill was brought to the US House last week and saw a 420-4 vote and has now been sent to President Joe Biden for his signature. Notably, the latest push back from the US lawmakers arrives after it was recently found that suppliers of blacklisted Chinese brands like Huawei and SMIC were still being granted` export licenses that were worth 61 billion US Dollars.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio, “Chinese state-directed companies like Huawei and ZTE are known national security threats and have no place in our telecommunications network.” This new bill would prevent the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) from reviewing or issuing new equipment licenses to firms on the FCC’s “Covered Equipment or Services List.” For those unaware, Huawei and ZTE were placed on trade blacklist back in 2019 and were later designated as national security threats and barred from the US communications network.

Back in June, the FCC had also unanimously to advance plans to ban approvals for equipment in US telecommunications network that are made from these Chinese companies. Although, this vote was withdrawn due to strong opposition from China. Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson at China’s foreign ministry had stated that The United States, without any evidence, still abuses national security and state power to suppress Chinese companies.”

US to open $1.9 billion program to replace Huawei equipment in US network

Sean — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 11:47:03 +0000

The US FCC (Federal Communications Commission) stated earlier this week that it would be launching a new program to help replace all the Huawei made equipment in the country’s networking infrastructure.

According to a Reuters report, the US FCC will be opening a 1.9 billion US Dollars program that will reimburse US telecom carriers, specifically rural ones, in order to aid in the removal/replacement of networking gear from the Chinese tech giant. For those unaware, Huawei was labeled as a national security threat by the US Commerce Department, who also added the brand into its trade blacklist as well. Now, the government seeks to further remove its presence from its network entirely.

While it Huawei and ZTE were designated as national security threats to communications, an order of “rip and replace” isn’t so simple. This holds especially true for rural carriers that would potentially face high costs and difficulty finding works that can remove and replace the equipment made by the Chinese firms. Furthermore, the initial eligibility criteria were for companies that had fewer than 2 million or lesser customers, but that has since been raised to 10 million or lower customers.

Back in September 2020, the FCC had estimated that the cost of total removal and replacement would be around 1.837 billion US Dollars. And now, it seems that the US is accelerating its plans to ban approvals for equipment in the nation’s telecom networks that were made by entities designated as a national security threat.

US FCC pushes to advance ban on Huawei and ZTE telecom gear

Sean — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 07:13:52 +0000

Earlier this week, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had unanimously voted to advance its proposed ban on approvals for networking equipment from US telecommunications carriers that are made by Huawei and ZTE.

According to a Reuters report, the US FCC aims to push its proposed bans on the two Chinese telecommunications giants that are considered to be national security threats. The new rules have already won initial approval and would allow FCC to revoke the authorizations issued to the Chinese companies for their equipment. A Huawei spokesperson labeled this FCC revision “misguided and unnecessarily punitive.”

Furthermore, the Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel added that new measures will “exclude untrustworthy equipment from our communications networks… We have left open opportunities for (Huawei and other Chinese equipment) use in the United States through our equipment authorization process. So here we propose to close that door.” Since 2018, the FCC has approved more than 3,000 applications from Huawei, as per FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr.

Although, the new regulations would ban all future authorizations for communications equipment that can potentially be a risk to the national security of the nation. Back in March 2021, the FCC had designated five Chinese firms as a security threat under a 2019 law that aims to protect US communications networks. Notably, Government officials have praised the FCC’s actions stating that the FCC has voted “to put national security first by keeping compromised Chinese equipment out of US telecommunications networks.”

FCC aims to plug loophole allowing Huawei equipment in US 5G Network

Sean — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 09:48:13 +0000

Brendan Carr, the FCC Commissioner, is looking to keep the restrictions tight against Chinese 5G equipment makers like Huawei and ZTE. Under the previous Trump administration, these firms were branded as national security threats due to alleged ties with the Chinese Communist government.

For those unaware, the US even went as far as to urge its allies to also ban the use of Huawei’s networking equipment when building their 5G networking. Back in 2020, the FCC even blocked the carriers from using money from the FCC managed USF (Universal Service Fund) to buy equipment from Huawei and ZTE made networking equipment. However, the networking equipment from the two Chinese manufacturers are still used by rural carriers if it is sourced by private funds.

Thus, Carr stated that the FCC needs to close these “glaring loophole … It makes no sense to allow that exact same equipment to get purchased and inserted into our communication network as long as federal dollars are not involved.” Similarly, the President Joe Biden appointed temporary FCC Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel has also “long advocated for reforming the equipment authorization process to better ensure security in new network devices and is pleased to see growing support for this idea. The FCC is already working on addressing many of the issues Commissioner Carr spoke about,” as per an FCC spokesperson.

Commisioner Carr also stated that the organization should do more to publicize China’s abuse of ethnic and religious minorities. Furthermore, the FCC named five Chinese companies as threats the US national security under a law designed to protect the security of US networks earlier this month. Meanwhile, Huawei announced that “extending the FCC’s evaluation and approval process to prohibit equipment that is already accredited by the FCC is misguided and costly to American companies.”

Huawei asks US courts to overturn its national security threat designation

Sean — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 08:07:14 +0000

Huawei has filed another lawsuit against the US government. This time the company has decided to fight the US FCC (Federal Communications Commission) ruling that designated the firm as a national security threat.

According to a ZDNet report, the Chinese tech giant has stated in the complaint that the national security designation could impact its financial interests of the telecommunications industry as well. For those unaware, the FCC had designated the company as a national security risk, along with ZTE. This caused the US based telecom operators being unable to purchase equipment or services from both the Chinese brands.

Furthermore, the former US President Donald Trump had also signed a legislation, which barred the US companies from using federal funds to purchase equipment from companies that have the national security threat designation. Thus, the US also had to set up a 1 billion US Dollar reimbursement program to help smaller telecoms with the cost of replacing equipment provided from Huawei and ZTE.

Apart from the FCC, the smartphone maker also filed a lawsuit against the agency claiming that it unconstitutionally enforced the ban. However, this was eventually dismissed last February on the grounds that the Congress was within its rights to enforce the ban. Huawei has also filed a legal action requesting for the law that enforced the ban to be overturned, which is currently being considered by the courts.

US FCC to take action against Huawei and China Telecom over Security concerns

Sean — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 07:06:40 +0000

The US Federal Communications Commission is moving against Chinese companies, Huawei Technologies and China Telecom. The news arrives after a series of ruling over national security ruled in favor against both companies, which allegedly have ties to the Chinese government.

In the voting, the FCC voted 5-0 and ordered telecommunications operators to remove Huawei made equipment from their systems. Similarly, the agency also asked whether to end China Telecom’s permission to operate in the US, as per a Bloomberg report. Both Huawei and China Telecom that have a very small percentage of revenue from the US have yet to respond to this matter at the moment.

According to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, “Security agencies contend the company hasn’t complied with cybersecurity and privacy laws, and provides opportunities for Chinese state-sponsored economic espionage and disruption of U.S. communications traffic.” He further added that, “the company is owned by the Chinese government.” Back in 2019, the FCC had also barred the use of US subsidies to purchase telecom equipment from Huawei and ZTE. This decision was made over security risk, which both companies have denied.

Now, the unanimous vote in the FCC will have the agency establish a list of banned equipment, and will even setup a fund to reimburse carriers for replacing these scrutinized gear. This will start once Congress presents an estimated 1.6 billion US Dollars. As per FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, “The record on this is clear. The Chinese government intends to surveil persons within our borders, for government security, for spying advantage, as well as for intellectual property and an industrial or business edge.”

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Huawei suing US FCC over National Security Risk Allegations

Sean — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 11:54:22 +0000

Amidst the US-China trade disputes, Huawei is still facing issues with the US Government. The Chinese firm is now aiming to challenge a decision made by the US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) that has banned Huawei from using government funds to buy its telecommunications networking equipment.

Earlier this year, Huawei was placed on the ‘Entity List‘ which disallowed other US-based companies to have trade relations with the company. This move from the US Commerce Department saw Huawei lose Google‘s Android OS support. Since then, the company is still facing problems with the Government after allegations were made over the risk of national security.

According to the FCC, Chinese vendors have largely been excluded from the US market, with many major network carriers using radio equipments from Ericsson, Nokia, and others. Notably, a small number of providers are still using kits from Huawei and ZTE due to it being relatively inexpensive. However, the FCC has voted on a measure that mandates US operators to remove and replace Huawei kit from their networks. The Rural Wireless Association, which represents operators with fewer than 100,000 customers estimates that the replacement of Chinese kit would cost up to 1 billion dollars; and this is just a quarter of its members.

Huawei plans to file an appeal against this decision. The tech giant has 30 days to file the appeal at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, Louisiana. The company has frequently denied the allegations from the US Government regarding security risks and stated that no evidence of any unlawful conduct has been produced to date. Additionally, US companies wish to partner with such Chinese firms and have argued that the ban also cuts off a valuable source of their revenue.

Huawei MateBook X Pro

The US Government is currently issuing a license for such trade and has received 300 applications. So far, about half have been rejected while the other half have been approved, such as Microsoft supplying Windows 10 OS to Huawei laptops.

(Via)

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Project Loon Gets FCC Approval For Wireless Connectivity In Puerto Rico

Jeet — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 08:01:13 +0000

Project Loon, a product of Google‘s parent Alphabet, had expressed interest to help restore wireless connectivity in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Both islands, after being hit by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, are left without cellphone coverage in more than 90 percent area.

In the development of this matter, within just seven days, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has given an experimental license for 30 Project Loon balloons to fly over Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The license is applicable from October 6th until April 4th, 2018. It was granted to Ben Wojtowicz, a software engineer and member of Alphabet’s X lab who is working on Project Loon.

In the license, FCC stated that “the purpose of the [Special Temporary Authority] is to support licensed mobile carriers’ restoration of limited communications capability in areas of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.”

If everything goes as per the company’s plans, then the balloons will temporarily replace thousands of mobile towers and provide voice and data services to users.

The 30 Loon balloons will float 20 kilometers above the earth in the stratosphere and will relay communications between ground stations connected to the surviving wireless networks, and the devices of users.

Each balloon can serve 5,000 square kilometers. Hence, 30 balloons are expected to provide service over all of Puerto Rico and some parts of the US Virgin Islands.

The spokesperson of the X division explained in a press statement that the next step is to integrate Project Loon with a telco partner’s network. The spokesperson further added that things are a little more complicated as they are starting from scratch.

In the application submitted to FCC, Alphabet showed that it has permission for Loon to use frequencies of eight wireless carriers in Puerto Rico for disaster relief and to restore limited communications.

Notably, this isn’t the first time Project Loon is coming to rescue in the time of emergency. Earlier this year, Project Loon was deployed with the help of Telefonica in Peru after a series of devastating floods.

Project Loon was started with the aim of serving the population that is still without internet access. It has launched several successful pilot projects, but the project is yet to be deployed commercially on a large scale.

(Source)

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“Hello Moto with a Large Battery”- Moto E4 with 4,000mAh battery Clears US FCC

Jed John Ikoba — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 08:25:05 +0000

A new Motorola smartphone with model number XT1723 has been spotted on the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website where it has been certified. The device is suspected to be the Moto E4, successor to the Moto E3 (Moto E 2016) released last year. The Moto E3 also got certified by FCC last year with the model number XT1706.

Usually, the FCC site doesn’t reveal much about the device being certified but in this case, the little listed is enough to get us excited. The Moto XT1723 model is listed with a massive 4,000mAh battery which dwarfs that of the Moto E3 which came with a 3,500mAh battery. The device is also listed with a 16GB storage which is believed to be its base version. There will likely be a 32GB storage version in the long run. That is just where it ends but we hope to see more about the device in the coming days.

Moto E3

The FCC certification means the Motorola, owned by Lenovo, has now gotten the green light to sell the Moto E4 in the US and Canada. The E4 will likely join two other Motorola models which had earlier appeared on WiFi Alliance with model numbers XT1750 and XT1754.

(source)

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