Huawei has now considered a “national security threat”, as the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Mr. Ajit Pa, proposed a ban on funds flowing from the Universal Service Fund to using services or products that may threaten the national security.
The Chinese giant was identified as such a national threat in March 2019, and since then it has been fighting hard to stop the potential ban, which has not come into effect yet.
According to Japan Times, Huawei filed a document to the FCC argued in a filing to the FCC this past Wednesday saying that the ban will do absolutely nothing to protect the national security of the US. The Chinese company stated that the ban will potentially shake the rural networks if these networks are required under law to remove all Huawei equipment, an installation that has been done years ago.
While the fight that Huawei is leading is a hard one, the estimated costs of replacing the equipment from the Chinese giant are around $900 – $1 billion.
The major concern here is that the national security experts speculate that Huawei can use switches, routers and other equipment and their “back doors” to spy on U.S. communication networks. Such allegations are denied by Huawei.
In addition, the equipment provided by Huawei is usually much cheaper than the one offered by direct competitors, so rural carriers are reluctant on the possible ban.Reportedly, Huawei has also approached FCC to discuss the potential new rule and consider options, but it was denied such a meeting.
As reported by Japan Times, this is what Huawei had to say about the new upcoming implications:
The Commission should not allow unsubstantiated ‘national security concerns’ to serve as a pretext for potential violation of long-standing international trade agreements, especially since such targeted actions would fail to address supply chain security concerns effectively.