FCC Expands Ban on Chinese Telecom Devices.

• Author: Bernardo, Trevor

As experienced operators in the U.S. defense industry are keenly aware, the U.S. government has taken several actions in recent years to counter the threat posed by adoption of Chinese technology and the impact on U.S. defense capability.

These actions include the prohibition on defense contractors utilizing telecommunications equipment or services produced by Huawei Technologies Co. or ZTE Corp., and the more recent requirement that defense contractors disclose certain activities in China.

The U.S. government has taken these efforts to another, broader level as the Federal Communications Commission has now effectively banned certain Chinese telecom and video surveillance devices from the U.S. market --demonstrating the power of its authority over virtually all electronics equipment, which until now had been exercised only to address technical, scientific and engineering concerns.

With congressional backing, the FCC now has established itself as a potent vehicle for excluding products from the U.S. market on national security concerns.

Specifically, the FCC released a Report and Order and a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Nov. 25 that changed the FCC's device and equipment authorization rules to broadly prohibit the importation, marketing, and sale of radio frequency devices and equipment by entities that the FCC has determined, based on input from the national security community, to pose a threat to the security of U.S. supply chains and networks.

The commission has published the list of such entities on its "Covered List," and each of the equipment manufacturers on the list has some reported affiliation with the Chinese government. Radio frequency devices and equipment are those that generate and/or emit RF energy, which effectively amounts to all electronic devices. Going forward, all applicants for FCC device and equipment authorizations will be required to attest that they are not subject to this prohibition to secure their authorizations.

Furthermore, the FCC previewed potentially greater changes to its rules in its effort to advance national security goals. For example, the commission has asked for comment on whether and to what extent to revoke existing device and equipment authorizations held by covered entities, such that equipment already in the marketplace could be rendered unlawful. It also asked whether the new ban should extend to "components" made by covered entities but used by others in their own devices and...