China Telecom’s U.S. unit plans to continue to provide some services in the U.S. come next year after a U.S. regulator revoked its authorization to operate telecommunications in the country due to national security issues.
After the FCC revoked the authorization last October, it declared that China Telecom (Americas) (CTA) “is subject to exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government.”
In a letter to the FCC, China Telecom stated that the services it intends to provide are not covered by the FCC’s order requiring its common carrier operations to cease. CTA argued that the services are considered private carriers.
CTA offers consumers mobile services under the brand name “CTExcel.” The FCC requires all CTExcel customers to switch to a new provider by January 3.
A CTA spokesperson said the Chinese company would “continue to operate its private carrier business in the U.S. even beyond the January 3rd deadline.”
In an official correspondence to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel that was released last Wednesday, a lawyer for China Telecom (Americas) said the FCC had denied its requests to comply.
China Telecom, which originally had a 20-year license to provide U.S. telecommunications services, had more than 335 million subscribers worldwide in 2019 and is also a service provider to Chinese government facilities in the US.
Rosenworcel’s office could not initially be reached for comment.
For more information, read the original story in Reuters.