Chinese telecom company Huawei shot back at an FCC proposal that would make it more difficult for telephone and internet companies to buy the company’s products. This follows several months of claims by federal and congressional officials that Huawei is too closely tied to the Chinese government.
The company issued a statement that said, “No government agency has ever tried to intervene in our operations or decisions” and that “U.S. authorities should not base major legislative decisions on speculation and rumor.”
The FCC proposal would disallow spending money from FCC’s Universal Service Fund – used to lower the cost of services in high-cost areas and to expand service in rural and low-income areas – on “companies that pose a national security threat to United States communications networks or the communications supply chain”.
A fact sheet issued by the FCC mentions congressional concern about both Huawei and its compatriot ZTE. In February, Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced a bill banning the two companies and their partners from federal networks.