UPDATE President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law bipartisan legislation to secure telecommunications systems against potential foreign threats, particularly from those linked to China. The Secure Equipment Act will ban the FCC from considering or issuing authorization for products from companies on the agency’s “covered list,” which includes Chinese telecommunications OEMs Huawei and ZTE.
In March, the FCC designated five Chinese companies as posing a threat to national security under a 2019 law aimed at protecting U.S. communications networks. The named companies included previously designated Huawei and ZTE, as well as Hytera Communications Corp, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., Inside Towers reported.
The national security threat designation blocks U.S. telecommunications companies from using FCC funds to purchase products from these companies.
The bill had almost unanimous support on Capitol Hill. The Senate passed the measure by voice vote last month and the House two weeks prior by a vote of 420-4, reported The Hill.
In announcing the bill’s signing, the White House thanked the sponsors, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), along with House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA).
The four lawmakers celebrated the bill’s passage following the Senate vote last month. Rubio said in a statement that “Chinese state-directed companies like Huawei and ZTE are known national security threats and have no place in our telecommunications network,” while Markey stressed the need to “animate our technology with our values.”
Following Senate passage, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said the measure “will help ensure that insecure gear from companies like Huawei and ZTE can no longer be inserted into America’s communications networks.”
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