Proposed equipment deals between Chinese vendor Huawei and US cellcos Sprint Nextel and cellco Cricket Communications have come under the spotlight of lawmakers.
Republican senators Jon Kyl and Susan Collins, independent senator Joseph Lieberman and…
Proposed equipment deals between Chinese vendor Huawei and US cellcos Sprint Nextel and cellco Cricket Communications have come under the spotlight of lawmakers.
Republican senators Jon Kyl and Susan Collins, independent senator Joseph Lieberman and Republican representative Sue Myrick sent a letter to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski outlining their concerns over Huawei’s alleged links with the Chinese military.
In it the politicians state that the deals: “…would pose a real threat to our national security,” and that they were “…very concerned that these companies are being financed by the Chinese government and are potentially subject to significant influence by the Chinese military.”
The legislators urged Genachowski to block the deals, as they thought that giving the Chinese company access to the US communications infrastructure could allow the military the opportunity to clandestinely plant routers and taps that could disrupt US telecommunications. They also cited Chinese trade policies and the government’s alleged policy of keeping the renminbi yuan undervalued against the US dollar of costing US jobs.
The legislators, who play top roles in congressional intelligence or homeland security committees, also sent Genachowski a list of detailed questions about FCC authority to monitor telecommunications equipment and the degree of consultation with the U.S. intelligence community. Huawei was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.
