U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Yonhap News Agency, ReutersOn December 8 (local time), the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ordered three Chinese telecommunications companies to correct issues with their Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD) certification, warning that they could be completely blocked from U.S. telecommunications networks if they fail to comply.

In the orders issued for China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom, the FCC's Enforcement Bureau (EB) stated, "Correct the deficiencies in your RMD certification and notify the EB of the corrective actions taken, or explain why the EB should not exclude your certification from the RMD."

It added, "Explain why your inclusion in the RMD is not contrary to the public interest."

The orders set a deadline of 14 days for the companies to submit their responses.

The FCC's RMD is a system that allows telecommunications carriers to demonstrate to the FCC their efforts to reduce illegal spam, and enables other carriers to use this information to block illegal traffic.

The FCC order specifically stated that if the RMD certification of these companies is revoked, "all intermediate providers and voice service providers must cease accepting all inbound calls from these carriers using the North American Numbering Plan (NANP)."

This implies an intention to block all calls originating from China and terminating in the United States through these Chinese carriers.

According to Reuters, the FCC has previously blocked Chinese telecommunications companies in the United States.

In 2019, China Mobile's application to provide telecommunications services in the U.S. was denied due to national security risks. In 2021 and 2022, operating permits for China Unicom, Pacific Networks and its subsidiary ComNet, and China Telecom Americas in the U.S. were revoked.