Ajit Pai Proposes Blocking China-Owned Telecom From US Phone Market

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has proposed denying China Mobile USA's application to offer telecom services in the U.S., saying the Chinese government-owned company poses a security risk. The FCC is scheduled to vote on an order to deny the application at its open meeting on May 9, and Pai yesterday announced his opposition to China Mobile entering the U.S. market. 'After reviewing the evidence in this proceeding, including the input provided by other federal agencies, it is clear that China Mobile's application to provide telecommunications services in our country raises substantial and serious national security and law enforcement risks,' Pai said. 'Therefore, I do not believe that approving it would be in the public interest. I hope that my colleagues will join me in voting to reject China Mobile's application.'

China Mobile filed its application in 2011, and has repeatedly complained about the government's lengthy review process. According to Pai's announcement, China Mobile's application sought authority 'to provide international facilities-based and resale telecommunications services between the U.S. and foreign destinations.' In simpler terms, the company was seeking 'a license to connect calls between the United States and other nations' and 'was not seeking to provide domestic cell service and compete in the country with businesses like AT&T and Verizon,' The New York Times wrote yesterday. An FCC official told reporters that such calls 'could be intercepted for surveillance and make the domestic network vulnerable to hacking and other risks,' the Times wrote.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.