China Telecom’s US unit China Telecom Americas (CTA)announced that it plans to continue providing some services in the US in 2022 after a regulator revoked its authorisation to operate telecommunications in the country, citing espionage concerns.
CTA said in a filing that its business-focused telecommunications operations in the U.S. aren’t common-carrier services as the Federal Communications Commission categorized them so the agency’s order doesn’t affect those services.
According to a report by Reuters, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in October voted to revoke the authorization. The FCC said China Telecom (Americas) (CTA) "is subject to exploitation, influence, and control by the Chinese government."
CTA offers consumers mobile service under the brand name "CTExcel." The FCC said CTExcel customers needed to switch to a new provider by Jan. 3, the report noted.
“CTA intends to continue offering them on a private-carrier basis after January 3, 2022, to honor its contractual obligations and avoid undue disruption to its customers’ operations,” China Telecom said in a Dec. 20 letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel as per a report in Bloomberg.
China Telecom had been authorized for 20 years to provide U.S. telecommunications services.
