HKT currently has permission to interconnect with America networks, allowing calls and data to be exchanged directly
[WASHINGTON] The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took steps to block one of Hong Kong’s largest phone companies from accessing domestic telecom networks, citing national security concerns.
Controlled by PCCW, HKT (International) and its subsidiaries must “explain why the FCC should not commence revocation proceedings against them”, the agency said in a statement on Wednesday (Oct 15). HKT currently has permission to interconnect with US networks, allowing calls and data to be exchanged directly.
“The FCC’s action on HKT today is an appropriate step towards ensuring the safety and integrity of our communications networks,” FCC chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement. “The FCC will continue to safeguard America’s networks against penetration from foreign adversaries, such as China.”
The FCC noted that HKT is an affiliate of China Unicom Hong Kong, the mainland provider that lost its US network access in 2022. China Unicom owns 18.4 per cent of PCCW.
PCCW made about 13.7 per cent of its revenue from regions outside of greater China and Singapore in 2024, according to an annual report. It did not say what countries those regions include.
The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the extent of HKT’s operations in the US. PCCW also did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside of official work hours.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
In the crossfire
Richard Li, the younger son of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, is the chairman and largest shareholder of PCCW. The FCC’s move is the latest instance of his businesses being caught in the crosshairs of tensions between the US and China.
His father’s company is entangled in the controversial sale of its global ports, including two in Panama, to a BlackRock-backed consortium, where it later invited a Chinese investor into the mix.
The ports deal has become a proxy for the rivalry between the US and China. The younger Li’s talks to expand his insurance business FWD Group Holdings into the mainland stalled after Beijing reacted angrily to the plan to sell the ports to the group, Bloomberg reported in July.
SEE ALSO
Richard Li’s companies have no official relation to Li Ka-Shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings, the company selling the ports.
“This development appears to follow a similar narrative to the Panama ports situation,” said David Blennerhassett, an analyst at Quiddity Advisors. “The US simply sees the Li family as a Chinese investor.”
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he saw the US as locked in a trade war with China. Washington and Beijing have agreed to a series of 90-day truces since earlier this year, with the next deadline looming in November.
Carr has made securing US networks from foreign influence a major priority. Other companies that have lost their US network access include China Telecom (Americas).
The FCC has “on the recommendation of Executive Branch national security agencies, denied or revoked authorisations to provide telecommunications services in the US to Chinese state-owned enterprises” in recent years, the statement said. BLOOMBERG
