Telecommunication

Apparently, Huawei has decided to fight a Federal Communications Commission decision that further curtails its business with some of its few remaining customers in the US, as it continues to advocate for itself in an escalating battle with Washington. The company is preparing a lawsuit that would challenge the decision—part of a broad recent effort by Huawei of more forcefully challenging US efforts to restrict its business.

Because 5G networks are interconnected, even a small amount of compromised equipment could be devastating to a country’s national security. 5G means that we must secure our networks from the “core” to the “edge.” At the Federal Communications Commission, we are in a position to do something about this threat. And we are. [On Nov. 22], my colleagues and I voted to prohibit carriers from using federal dollars to purchase any equipment or services from companies that pose a national security threat, including Huawei and ZTE. 

The US Department of Commerce issued a notice of proposed rulemaking and requested comment on the implementation of Executive Order 13873, Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) Supply Chain. The proposed rule sets out the procedures the Sec of Commerce plans to use to identify, assess, and address ICTS transactions that pose an undue risk to ICTS in the US, to the critical infrastructure or the digital economy in the US, or an unacceptable risk to national security or to the security and safety of US persons.

Two companies, Securus and GTL, control more than 70% of the market for prison calls.

As part of its continuing efforts to safeguard the security and integrity of the nation’s communications networks, the Federal Communications Commission has barred use of its $8.5 billion a year Universal Service Fund (USF) to purchase equipment and services from companies that pose a national security threat. The Order adopted initially designates Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corp. as companies covered by this rule and establishes a process for designating additional covered companies in the future.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, Dec 12, 2019:

988: Suicide Prevention Hotline Number – The FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would propose to designate 988 as the 3-digit number for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline. (WC Docket No. 18-336)

On June 27, 2019, I convened a workshop at the Federal Communications Commission to consider security threats that stem from the presence of certain Chinese communications equipment in US networks and from the related services these companies provide. This workshop gathered the views of many stakeholders, particularly in the wireless communications ecosystem, including carriers, trade associations, manufacturers, and academics.

The last Federal Communications Commission meeting of 2019, on December 12, features more than one item that could receive top billing in an ordinary month. The FCC will consider:

On Nov 22 the Federal Communications Commission will vote to adopt a rule ensuring that our universal service funds—which provide billions annually to support broadband deployment in rural communities—are not used to purchase insecure network equipment. We also will kick off a rulemaking to identify where this equipment is in networks today and how to help carriers serving rural America replace it. I think with a few changes we can better protect the integrity of our networks and offer more certainty and predictability for carriers.

GAO was asked to review funding reforms and fraud controls the Federal Communications Commission has implemented for rate-of-return carriers. This report examines the extent to which FCC: (1) has implemented funding reforms specific to rate-ofreturn carriers, and (2) is managing fraud risks for the high-cost program in accordance with leading practices. One of the reforms that GAO reviewed established a funding mechanism for the carriers whereby FCC determines the level of financial support to provide the carriers based on cost and revenue estimates produced by a model.