The FCC Is Done Playing Nice With Chinese Telecoms

The FCC votes to expel Chinese telecoms from US data centers and network hubs, escalating Washington's years-long tech decoupling push

7 May 2026

On April 30, 2026, the FCC voted to push Chinese state telecoms out of the last physical infrastructure they still operate on American soil. China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom would lose access to US data centers and Points of Presence, the onshore hubs where undersea cable traffic enters domestic networks. Submarine cables carry roughly 99 percent of global internet traffic, making this one of the most consequential telecom actions Washington has taken in years.

Earlier rulings had already stripped these carriers of domestic service rights. What survived was quieter: wholesale routing infrastructure embedded deep inside US internet exchange nodes. This proposal would formalize what the earlier "Clean Network" initiative only recommended, turning voluntary guidance into binding law.

An interconnection ban may matter even more. Any carrier running Huawei or ZTE equipment anywhere in its network would be barred from connecting to US telecom infrastructure, regardless of where it operates. That scope is sweeping. Analysts expect it to accelerate the fracturing of global technology supply chains, squeezing third-country operators who depend on Huawei-equipped routes to reach US capacity.

Approved the same day, a companion measure blocks Chinese laboratories from certifying electronic devices for the US market. Together, both votes sketch a broader decoupling strategy with implications well beyond American borders. Regulators in Europe and across the Asia Pacific are watching closely, knowing final rules expected later in 2026 could reshape how their own carriers connect to the world's largest internet market.