Photo: VCG

Chinese industry analysts said that the latest US attempts to bar China-made modules from use in the US telecommunication network due to a so-called national security threat are groundless and will have a limited impact on the normal operation of Chinese producers. Instead, the move will impose extra costs on US taxpayers.

The comments came as media reports said that two US lawmakers appealed to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to address questions about potential "security concerns" caused by China-made cellular modules.

Industry insiders said the replacement of devices might have a high cost that will finally fall on US taxpayers, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The US lawmakers mentioned two Chinese cellular module producers - Quectel and Fibocom Wireless - alleging that US medical equipment, vehicles and farm equipment could be accessed and controlled remotely from China if they use the Chinese-made cellular modules.

An employee with Quectel's investor hotline told the Global Times on Wednesday that the company has noticed the news, but it has not affected the company's operations or triggered any risks at present. Quectal said that it will keep investors updated.

The Global Times wasn't able to reach Fibocom Wireless for comment as of press time.

Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance, told the Global Times on Wednesday that removing Chinese equipment from US networks may cost a lot, and most of that will fall on US taxpayers.

Xiang said that the alleged "security concern" is baseless because Chinese telecom equipment hasn't damaged any US individuals or entities, noting that "the two lawmakers' proposal will not change the current situation of the US telecom network but will affect US people's interests."

The US has been stepping up efforts to crack down on Chinese telecom operators in recent years.

In September 2021, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the US FCC added equipment and services from two entities - Pacific Network Corp and its wholly owned subsidiary ComNet (USA) LLC and China Unicom (Americas) Operations - to its covered list of communications equipment and services that have been "deemed a threat to national security," according to a press release from the FCC, in a further ill-intended attempt to block Chinese companies from taking part in the country's telecommunications sector.

An FCC spokesperson said the commission "will closely review the committee's letter. We take very seriously the security of US networks and equipment" and noted that commissioners have "taken strong actions on a bipartisan basis to remove untrustworthy equipment and network operators from US networks," Reuters reported on Wednesday.

"The FCC's move targeting Chinese companies isn't done yet. But it may find it hard to sustain this, because the total cost of removing all Chinese telecom equipment would be far from $1.9 billion, which will affect some small telecom operators' service quality and may cause greater business losses," said Xiang.

There are more than 50 mostly smaller US telecom companies with Huawei or ZTE gear or using services from the companies, as well as a few larger companies like CenturyLink and Verizon Communications Inc, according to media reports.