Huawei and ZTE have a month to convince the US they’re not a security threat
The US Federal Communications Commission has set a deadline of 3 February for comments on its designation of Huawei and ZTE as security threats.
This is a standard regulatory procedure to demonstrate the gathering of as many viewpoints and pieces of information as possible before making a decision. But as is so often the case this will probably prove to be a mere formality in the rubber-stamping process of a decision that was made some time ago.
Specifically there were two almost identical announcements made by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, in which the only variations were the names of the companies. ‘The PSHSB announces that comments in response to the initial designation of [company], its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries as a covered company in the Protecting Against National Security Threats to the Communications Supply Chain Through FCC Programs Report and Order are due on February 3, 2020,’ opened the announcement.
It goes on to clarify that this process refers to the prohibition on spending Universal Service Fund money by any US operator with Huawei or ZTE. Huawei is taking the FCC to court over this prohibition so it seems to be belatedly manufacturing the impression of due process in anticipation of the matter going to court.
It’s hard to see what arguments Huawei, ZTE or any of their allies could possibly present this month that would persuade the FCC of the error of its ways. Little, if any, concrete evidence has been presented of the threat they pose to US security other than the fact that they’re Chinese and thus presumed to be obliged to assist the Chinese state in espionage when required. Huawei’s legal action will rely heavily on demonstrating the FCC is not granting it legal due process and this call for comment does little to undermine that claim.
Lol it was never about security risk. It was that western rivals can’t compete with huawei 5g tech and whoever dominates in 5g, will dominate tge infornation age. It was tech protectionism and UKA GOV had already stated they know how to manage the risks satisfactorily and can’t afford to miss out on having the best 5g tech as it is key to developing so many of future innovations.
Litlle or no hard evidence presented… even so, the ban is enforced. With all the cyber security specialists working for the U.S. goverment, litlle or no hard evidence was ever presented in order to support the ban decision. I think these specialists would have been able to find evidence if what they say is true. Otherwise, if you go by the offical reasons, you should not buy anything that has an internet or wifi connection, as the manufacturers of these products have the posibility of remote connection. Maybe the issue is that the goverment don’t have access to these devices…
FCC is only pretending to give justification to their action, it’s clear that their main reason for the ban is the lack of trust in Huaweis’ gadgets which is purely based on speculations, they have no evidence for their actions but still can’t trust the companies….