HKT to exit US market under FCC pressure as Washington tightens grip on Chinese telecoms

Hong Kong's major telecom operator HKT has agreed to exit the US market, roughly a year after the Federal Communications Commission launched proceedings to revoke its operating licenses over the company's ties to China Unicom through its parent PCCW.

HKT reached an agreement with the FCC to discontinue all international and domestic telecommunications services provided in or directed at the United States, Reuters reported Saturday.

Under the deal, HKT must submit a service-discontinuation application to the FCC within 30 days and cease all US operations by Sept. 1 next year. In exchange, the FCC agreed to suspend the ongoing license-revocation proceedings.

The FCC announced last October that it would begin proceedings to revoke HKT's US operating licenses, citing the company's relationship with China Unicom, a shareholder of HKT's parent PCCW.

Washington's regulatory push against Chinese telecommunications companies has been expanding into other areas. The FCC has already barred China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom from providing international telecommunications services in the United States.

On Thursday, the FCC also voted to exclude Chinese testing laboratories from the approval process for electronic devices — including smartphones, cameras and computers — seeking authorization for sale and use in the US. The new rule takes effect in December 2028.

The FCC is also set to vote next month on a measure that would tighten requirements for Voice over Internet Protocol operators seeking direct assignment of US telephone numbers. The proposal is reported to include provisions limiting Chinese-linked carriers' direct access to US phone numbers.

Beijing pushed back against the moves. China's Ministry of Commerce called for the FCC's recent actions to be withdrawn, saying they undermine market principles and could harm economic and trade relations between the two countries as well as the stability of global supply chains.

The FCC's Thursday vote to bar Chinese testing laboratories from the device-authorization process reflects the agency's concern that heavy reliance on Chinese testing facilities poses risks to both security and intellectual property protection. The rule applies to smartphones, cameras, computers and other electronics, and takes effect in December 2028.