This month, the FCC will vote on a bipartisan proposal that prohibits telecommunications certification bodies and test labs used to certify wireless devices heading to the U.S. market from being influenced by foreign firms that are U.S. security concerns. Reuters notes that last week the FCC voted to prevent Huawei’s test lab from participating in the U.S. equipment authorization program.
The FCC says that the new proposal will permanently ban Huawei and others that appear on an FCC list of national security threats “from playing any role in the equipment authorization program while also providing the FCC and its national security partners the necessary tools to safeguard this important process.” Huawei was considered an accredited lab although the accreditation was set to expire this past Tuesday. The FCC denied the company’s request for an extension.
In a statement, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that the FCC “must ensure that our equipment authorization program and those entrusted with administering it can rise to the challenge posed by persistent and ever-changing security and supply chain threats.” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said the proposal will “ensure that the test labs and certification bodies that review electronic devices for compliance with FCC requirements are themselves trustworthy actors that the FCC can rely on.”