China Telecom Americas will leave the US after the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied the company’s emergency motion to pause an FCC order revoking the company’s authorizations to continue operating in the US.
The telco will cease all operations in the US by early January.
“Petitioner has not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review,” the court document states.
China Telecom still plans to challenge the order in court, but that could take months. The company warned that it “will be forced to cease significant operations, irreparably harming its business, reputation, and relationships.”
The Chinese telco doesn’t own any US data centers but has colo space and/or points of presence at 27 US data centers on both seaboards.
In its revocation of China Telecom’s license, the FCC claimed the company “is subject to exploitation, influence, and control by the Chinese government and is highly likely to be forced to comply with Chinese government requests without sufficient legal procedures subject to independent judicial oversight.”
