The FCC imposes a ban on equipment from Huawei and ZTE, camera providers Hikvision and Dahua, and radio maker Hytera, citing “a risk to national security”

US regulators imposed a ban on electronic equipment from Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp., continuing a years-long effort …

Bloomberg 2022-11-27 Todd Shields

Context & Ripple Effects

The FCC had already designated Huawei and ZTE national-security risks and barred telecoms from using federal subsidies to buy their equipment. The 2021 Secure Equipment Act then gave the agency a licensing mandate against designated threats through new equipment-authorization limits.

The latest action extends that enforcement path beyond the two network vendors to Hikvision, Dahua and Hytera, turning a vendor-specific telecom restriction into a wider bar on covered communications and surveillance equipment.

First-order effects

Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua and Hytera lose access to FCC equipment authorization for covered products, restricting their ability to bring new gear to the U.S. market.
U.S. telecom and surveillance-equipment buyers must source covered products from vendors that can secure FCC approval rather than from the five named companies.

Second-order effects

Competing network, camera and radio suppliers gain a clearer route to serve U.S. buyers displaced by the named vendors, while purchasers face replacement and procurement decisions.
The action validates the FCC's earlier planned ban on new Huawei and ZTE device sales, increasing the regulatory importance of a supplier's security designation and authorization status.

Third-order effects

The FCC is becoming a gatekeeper for national-security policy through equipment authorization, not only through subsidy rules or federal-contract restrictions.
If this enforcement model is applied to additional equipment categories, U.S. communications and surveillance supply chains will increasingly be organized around regulators' approved-vendor boundaries.

The trend: U.S. national-security policy is shifting from targeted limits on Chinese telecom vendors toward FCC-administered market-access restrictions across connected hardware categories.

Discussion

@brendancarrfcc Brendan Carr on x
Today, the FCC takes an unprecedented step to safeguard our networks and strengthen America's national security. Our unanimous decision represents the first time in FCC history that we have voted to prohibit the authorization of new equipment based on national security concerns. …
@jrosenworcelfcc Jessica Rosenworcel on x
The @FCC's committed to protecting our national security by ensuring that untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorized for use within our borders, and we are continuing that work here. https://www.fcc.gov/...
@fcc @fcc on x
Today we adopted new rules prohibiting communications equipment deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to national security from being authorized for importation or sale in the US. #FCCGov #NationalSecurity https://www.fcc.gov/... https://www.fcc.gov/...
@brendancarrfcc Brendan Carr on x
I called for the FCC to take this action in 2021 as a necessary means of closing the “Huawei loophole”—a problem where insecure gear could continue to be approved for use in the U.S. by the FCC despite the threat posed to our national security.
@maxwinebach Max Weinbach on x
This is a huge move https://twitter.com/...
@jchengwsj Jonathan Cheng on x
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 to ban sales of new telecom and surveillance equipment made by several Chinese companies, arguing that their ownership and practices threaten U.S. national security. @DrewFitzGerald https://www.wsj.com/...
@lizalinwsj Liza Lin on x
The U.S. FCC voted 4-0 to ban sales of new surveillance equipment made by Chinese companies including Hikvision and Dahua, arguing that their ownership and practices threaten U.S. national security. https://www.wsj.com/... via @DrewFitzGerald @WSJ

Chronicles