WASHINGTON — The United States government is moving to prohibit Chinese telecommunications operators from obtaining direct access to American telephone numbering resources on national security grounds, introducing a regulatory measure engineered to curb illicit automated robocalls and protect domestic communications networks.
The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on Thursday that commissioners will hold an official vote on November 19 regarding a proposal to bar China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, and other internet protocol enabled service providers from acquiring direct numbering access. For telecommunications carriers operating Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platforms, which convert voice audio into digital data packets transmitted across broadband infrastructure, direct access to numbering resources significantly reduces wholesale interconnection costs and simplifies the deployment of advanced telecommunications features.
Brendan Carr, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, stated that the regulatory decision strengthens the nation’s primary line of defense against malicious cyber actors and illegal robocall syndicates. Beyond restricting Chinese state backed carriers, the regulatory agency outlined plans to block any internet protocol enabled service provider operating hardware manufactured by entities listed on the FCC’s national security Covered List, specifically targeting network equipment supplied by Huawei and ZTE. The commission further confirmed that it will prohibit all laboratories located in China from testing and certifying electronics destined for the United States market starting in December 2028, alongside evaluating the revocation of existing numbering authorizations held by Chinese enterprises deemed to pose national security vulnerabilities.
In response to the regulatory announcement, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs voiced firm opposition on Friday, accusing authorities in Washington of overstretching national security doctrines and leveraging state regulatory mechanisms to suppress commercial Chinese enterprises. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated during a press briefing in Beijing that China will implement necessary countermeasures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and commercial interests of its domestic companies.
The impending numbering restrictions build upon a multi year regulatory campaign by the FCC, which previously revoked authorizations for China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom to provide international telecommunications services within the United States, and added California registered Digitalsystem Technology to its national security risk registry in July due to ownership ties and links to Chinese telecom operators. Regulators are concurrently evaluating wider measures that would bar Chinese carriers from interconnecting with American network backbones or operating domestic data center facilities within the United States. Heightened scrutiny over foreign access to American telecommunications metadata escalated following late 2024 disclosures regarding Salt Typhoon, an alleged state sponsored cyber espionage campaign accused of infiltrating US carrier infrastructure and exfiltrating consumer call records, a threat that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned this year remains active despite consistent denials of wrongdoing from Beijing.
