In 2019, the @FCC took decisive action to secure the communications supply chain, barring companies from using FCC subsidies to buy equipment from entities deemed national security threats. Pleased 5th Cir. today rejected #Huawei's appeal of our decision. ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/1…
Today's decision by the 5th Cir. closes part of the circle that began in 2018, when I promised @SenTomCotton and others that "I intend[ed] to take proactive steps to help ensure the integrity of the communications supply chain in the United States." transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases…
There's more to do. We successfully pushed Congress to establish a program for removing already-installed equipment from companies like Huawei and ZTE—an ongoing process. But now the court's made clear: "Assessing security risks to telecom networks falls in the FCC’s wheelhouse."
Kudos to the @FCC staff who worked so hard on the order under review (and many other initiatives that advanced the security of our communications networks), and to former @FCC General Counsel @TomMJohnsonJr and his team, who successfully defended the order before the 5th Circuit!
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Kevin Berthia lived in the SF Bay Area. His family had medical and financial difficulties. Berthia was depressed and went to the Golden Gate Bridge. "Before March 11, 2005, I never even went to the bridge. ... I didn't even know how to get there. I had to ask for directions." 2/8
Berthia stepped over the railing and turned around. He said that at the time, he "just felt like a failure. All I gotta do is lean back and everything is done. I'm free of all this pain." That's when @CHP_HQ Officer Kevin Briggs came on the scene and started talking to him. 3/8
Promoting supply chain integrity. Advancing strong, secure #5G networks. Taking action on Chinese firms' U.S. market access. Working with counterparts abroad.
Our engagements abroad have been quite productive. It hasn’t been easy. It’s taken a lot of time. And it’s often been without immediate apparent effect. But now we're seeing the results of our work. And the tide has turned significantly toward the U.S. position on #5G security.
Our successful efforts to promote national security have truly been "whole of government." With deep gratitude to @robstrayer, @JMSteinman45, Robert Blair, and so many patriots @FCC (among others), who have worked so hard over the past four years on behalf of our country. 🇺🇸
Wow! @NobelPrize in Economics goes to Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson, whose “best-known contribution is the auction they designed the first time the US authorities [the @FCC!] sold radio frequencies to telecom operators.” Very well-deserved recognition. nobelprize.org/prizes/economi…
For years, the @FCC allocated frequencies using what were called “beauty contests.” Applicants would lobby the agency on why their proposal was superior and merited a license. Highly inefficient, no revenue to @USTreasury, and companies “spent huge amounts of money on lobbying.”
In 1959, Ronald Coase wrote a seminal paper called, appropriately, “The Federal Communications Commission.” He identified numerous flaws in the centrally-planned approach to spectrum allocation and proposed that the @FCC assign spectrum instead through auctions.
BREAKING NEWS: The @FCC has designated #Huawei and #ZTE as companies posing a national security threat to the United States. As a result, telecom companies cannot use money from our $8.3B Universal Service Fund on equipment or services produced or provided by these suppliers. 1/5
In making this decision, @FCC took into account input from Congress, Executive Branch, intelligence community, allies, and communications service providers. Overwhelming weight of evidence supported designation of Huawei and ZTE as national security risks to U.S. networks. 2/4
Both Huawei and ZTE have close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and China’s military apparatus. And both companies are broadly subject to Chinese law, which obligates them to cooperate with the country’s intelligence services. 3/4
China investing $1.4T in "next-generation technologies as it seeks to catapult the communist nation ahead of the U.S. in critical areas. ... Beijing seeks a global edge in construction of superfast cellular networks known as #5G."
CCP General Secretary Xi “warned [US firms] they could be wounded in a trade war if they failed. ‘In the West you have the notion that if somebody hits you on the left cheek, you turn the other cheek. ... In our culture, we punch back.’” wsj.com/articles/the-s…