FCC Reactions to 'Team Telecom' Executive Order

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement on President Donald Trump’s Executive Order on Establishing the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the USTelecommunications Services Sector: “I applaud the President for formalizing Team Telecom review and establishing a process that will allow the Executive Branch to provide its expert input to the FCC in a timely manner. Now that this Executive Order has been issued, the FCC will move forward to conclude our own pending rulemaking on reform of the foreign ownership review process. As we demonstrated last year in rejecting the China Mobile application, this FCC will not hesitate to act to protect our networks from foreign threats. At the same time, we welcome beneficial investment in our networks and believe that this Executive Order will allow us to process such applications more quickly.”

FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly said, "I am exceptionally pleased by President Trump’s release of an Executive Order setting forth official procedures for administrative agencies to review and comment on FCC applications involving foreign ownership of communications companies, previously referred to as ‘Team Telecom.’ While all of our hearts and minds are properly focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, this EO will facilitate acceptable investment of foreign capital in the communications sector to help jump start the industry and our economy, when that time comes. Having been at the forefront of this multiyear reform effort, my priority has always been about fixing the incoherent and indefensibly unpredictable review process — one that reached new levels of disfunction during the Obama Administration — without jeopardizing national security in any manner. The new EO accomplishes this necessary balance by, among other things, establishing a formal structure to be known as the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector and by including deadlines for the relevant agencies to render decisions while still affording ample time for appropriate and thorough reviews. I will request that Chairman Pai move expeditiously to integrate the new Executive Order into our review process.”

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said, "President Trump’s decision sends a clear message that the US will do what it takes to secure our communications networks from any threats posed by foreign actors. By issuing this Executive Order, the President acted to ensure the security of our telecom networks against foreign actors who may seek to do us harm—and the timing could not have been better. The threats of attacks on our critical telecom infrastructure and illegal spying rise as our reliance on those networks rises. Leveraging America’s national security agencies and their expertise will enhance the Commission’s long-standing duty to help safeguard our networks. The President’s committee will have a full docket, and near the top of it, I recommend that the committee examine every carrier owned by the Chinese government that now connects to networks here in the US—including China Unicom and China Telecom. The committee’s focus on whether their existing ‘Section 214’ authorizations should be revoked would aid the Commission’s ongoing work on national security matters.”