Media Contact:
Will Adams, (202) 418-2007 
will.adams@fcc.gov 
 
For Immediate Release






Carr Praises Executive Order Enhancing National Security Review of Foreign Participation in U.S. Telecom Sector
Calls for New Committee to Focus on Threats from Carriers Owned by China

WASHINGTON, DC, April 6, 2020––Commissioner Brendan Carr praised an executive order issued this weekend by President Trump that enhances the inter-agency process for reviewing foreign participation in American telecommunications networks, including owning, building, or connecting with U.S. telecom infrastructure.  The order formalizes the long-running “Team Telecom” national security review led by the Defense Department, Justice Department, and Department of Homeland Security, among other Executive Branch law enforcement and national security agencies.

“President Trump’s decision sends a clear message that the U.S. 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,” said Carr.

Carr has been outspoken about the need to secure U.S. networks against untrusted actors.  In 2018, at the outset of the FCC’s supply chain proceeding, Carr helped expand the Commission’s policy options to include the removal and replacement of insecure equipment from networks in the U.S.  Carr has also identified a number of carriers owned by the Chinese government that are now connecting to networks in the U.S. under authorizations issued by the FCC years ago.  In 2019, Carr called for the national security agencies to examine whether the FCC should revoke those existing authorizations given the evolving nature of security threats.

“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 U.S.—including China Unicom and China Telecom,” said Carr.  “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.”

###

Office of Commissioner Brendan Carr: (202) 418-2200
www.fcc.gov/about/leadership/brendan-carr