FCC Proposals Would Clamp Down on Foreign Ownership by U.S. Adversaries

The lab order would prohibit FCC recognition of any telecommunications certification body (TCB), lab or lab accreditation body owned by a company on the FCC’s covered list and other government lists of unsecure companies. These lists include the DOD’s Chinese military company list and the executive branch’s list of “foreign adversaries.” The FCC would also adopt certification requirements “to enable the Commission to determine ownership, control and direction of prohibited entities” and make other changes to its rules.

The FNPRM asks questions about how far the rules should extend and how the commission “can facilitate and encourage more equipment authorization testing to occur” at test labs in the U.S. or U.S. allied countries. The FNPRM also proposes to revise TCB post-market surveillance procedures and “restrict relationships between TCBs and the test labs for which the TCB reviews applications.”

The draft downplays some concerns raised in response to an NPRM last year. “We find inadequate” suggestions “that it would be sufficient to simply adopt disclosure requirements, because such disclosure requirements would not necessarily prevent entities presenting national security concerns from participating in our equipment authorization program,” the draft says.

“We are also not persuaded that our proposed rules would meaningfully adversely impact global supply chains, slow equipment approvals, or increase costs for manufacturers,” the draft says: “The transparency of these new requirements will not only provide the Commission with the necessary information to ensure the integrity of our equipment authorization program, it will also increase awareness within industry as to the entities with whom they choose to do business and lessen concern that prohibited entities could interfere with their equipment authorizations or the process of obtaining such, potentially speeding up equipment approvals and reducing costs.”

Foreign Ownership

The draft foreign-ownership NPRM also targets national security, tying its efforts to Trump administration initiatives. It “proposes to apply new certification and disclosure requirements on entities holding every type of license, permit, or authorization, rather than only certain specific licenses, as the Commission currently does.” The commission also proposes “to go beyond foreign ownership to also cover all regulated entities controlled by or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary,” the draft says.

Companies that fall under the requirements would have to “disclose all ownership interests of 5% or greater” to the FCC, as well as “the nature of their reportable foreign adversary control.” The draft proposes that licensees would have to apply for an initial certification “and a new certification within 30 days of any changes to ownership involving a foreign adversary or a new ownership interest of 5% or greater.”

“The proposed certification and information collection requirements would fill gaps in the Commission’s existing rules and give the Commission, and the public, a new and comprehensive view of threats from foreign adversaries in the communications sector,” the draft says.

Satellite Spectrum

While the FCC previously examined opening the 12.7 and 42 GHz bands to terrestrial wireless (see 2308310053 and 2310260067), satellite communications might mean more efficient and intensive use of the spectrum more quickly, says another draft NPRM.

The NPRM seeks comment on ways of using the 12.7 and 42 GHz bands more intensively for satcom, as either an alternative or complement to terrestrial wireless. It also asks about the demand or need for the 12.7 GHz band to support satcom.

The FCC said it's also seeking input on rules that might prevent intensive use of the 12.7 GHz band by geostationary and non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) systems. In addition, it asks for comment on the creation of a fixed satellite service allocation in the 42 GHz band and on the feasibility of satcom uplinks and downlinks in the bands. In the commission's 2023 proceeding about the 42 GHz band, Amazon’s Kuiper called high-band spectrum “an increasingly important resource” for NGSO fixed satellite service operators and urged the FCC to adopt an allocation in the band for FSS downlinks.

Today, 42-42.5 GHz isn’t used for any existing services in the U.S, the draft says: The 12.7-13.25 GHz is shared among fixed microwave services, broadcast auxiliary service, cable relay service and FSS.