Team Telecom Asks FCC to Deny Hong Kong Cable Link With US; Other Project With Tech Link OK

Team Telecom recommended the FCC deny OK for the portion of a Pacific Light Cable Network undersea cable system that would directly link the U.S. and Hong Kong, DOJ announced. The commission declined to comment.

But the DOJ, DOD and Department of Homeland interdepartmental body, formally called the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecom Services Sector, recommended the commission grant the portions of PLCN’s application seeking to connect the U.S., Taiwan and the Philippines. That part lacks China-based ownership and is "separately owned and controlled by subsidiaries of Google" and Facebook, DOJ said. It would have a "condition that the companies’ subsidiaries enter into mitigation agreements."

The other deployment "would have allowed for the highest capacity subsea cable connection between" the U.S. and Asia and "the first direct connection between" the U.S. and Hong Kong, Justice said Wednesday. "This raised national security concerns, because a significant investor in the PLCN is Pacific Light Data," which is part of Dr. Peng Group, China's No. 4 telecom services provider.

There has been heightened U.S. scrutiny of China and its trade and IP practices. China's embassy in Washington and Google and Facebook didn't comment right away.