US Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr said the ban on Chinese telecom firms would strengthen the agency's first line of defence against bad actors and illegal robocallers. (EPA Images pic)WASHINGTON: The US plans to soon ban Chinese telecom firms from direct access to US phone numbers on national security grounds — a measure designed to prevent scam-related robocalls.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Thursday that it will vote on Nov 19 on a proposal to ban China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom and other IP-enabled service providers from direct access.
For telecom firms providing Voice over Internet Protocol — technology that converts voice into digital data and transmits it over broadband connections — direct access is a much cheaper option and makes it easier to offer advanced features.
