FCC: China Mobile Could Be Fined for Not Cooperating With Probe

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Jun 20, 2025 - 10:06 Updated: Jun 20, 2025 - 09:53
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FCC: China Mobile Could Be Fined for Not Cooperating With Probe
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a formal warning to China Mobile, the largest wireless carrier in China, that it could be fined for failing to comply with its probe of potential unauthorized operations in the United States.

China Mobile has been barred from providing phone services to U.S. users since 2019. In a citation and order dated June 16, the FCC said it is investigating whether the company may still be active on U.S. soil.

According to the federal regulator, China Mobile has repeatedly failed to provide specific documentation and information requested as part of the inquiry.

“China Mobile’s conduct throughout this matter exhibits a disregard for the Commission’s authority and threatens to compromise the Commission’s ability to adequately investigate,” the FCC wrote, demanding that the company “take immediate steps to respond fully” to a list of questions that was issued in February.

The order warns that failure to comply could result in fines, including fines of up to $25,132 per violation or per day of a continuing violation. The company has been given 30 days to respond.

In 2011, China Mobile applied for an international Section 214 authorization, seeking permission to provide both facilities-based and resale international telecommunications services. After a lengthy review process that included consultations with the U.S. intelligence community, the FCC denied the application in 2019, citing “serious national security and law enforcement risks” arising from the company’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

According to the FCC, China Mobile’s ultimate parent is China Mobile International Holdings Limited (CMIHL), a Hong Kong company. China Mobile Communications Corporation (CMCC), a Chinese state-owned enterprise, holds majority voting and equity interests in CMIHL and is subject to oversight by the Chinese regime.

In its 2019 findings, the FCC concluded that China Mobile is “indirectly owned and controlled by the Chinese government.” It specifically pointed to a 2017 Chinese National Intelligence Law requiring citizens and organizations, including state-owned enterprises, to “cooperate, assist, and support Chinese intelligence efforts wherever they are in the world.”

“As such, there was a significant possibility that the Chinese government’s influence and control could result in computer intrusions and attacks and economic espionage,” the FCC warned at that time.

In 2022, the FCC took a step further, placing China Mobile on its Covered List, which identifies companies deemed to pose an “unacceptable” national security risk. Entities on the list are prohibited from receiving federal funds for equipment purchases, and the FCC will not approve new equipment from them to be imported or used in the United States.

The Covered List currently includes 11 entities, all of which are CCP-aligned Chinese businesses except for Kaspersky, a Russian cybersecurity firm added due to alleged links to the Russian military and intelligence.

Despite all these restrictions, the FCC said China Mobile may still have a presence in the United States, since the company has claimed that being on the Covered List “does not prohibit certain types of operations.”

The FCC’s warning comes amid broader scrutiny of Chinese firms on the Covered List. In March, the agency announced an investigation into nine Chinese companies, including China Mobile, Huawei Technologies, ZTE, Hangzhou Hikvision, and China Telecom, to determine their current levels of operation.

“We have reason to believe that, despite those actions, some or all of these Covered List entities are trying to make an end run around those FCC prohibitions by continuing to do business in America on a private or unregulated basis,” said FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.

China Mobile did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

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