The United States Federal Communications Commission said on Thursday 29 October 2026 that it will vote on 19 November 2026 on a proposal to ban Chinese telecom firms from direct access to US phone numbers. The firms named are China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, plus other IP-enabled service providers. The stated grounds are national security and preventing scam-related robocalls.

What direct access means

For Voice over Internet Protocol providers, direct access to phone numbers is a cheaper option and makes it easier to offer advanced features, according to Reuters. Removing it would raise costs and complicate service for the firms affected, while regulators argue it closes a route used by bad actors.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr said the decision would strengthen “our first line of defense against bad actors and illegal robocallers”. The FCC also plans to bar IP-enabled service providers that use equipment from companies on its national-security risk list, including Huawei or ZTE.

Wider measures in the same package

The FCC added that it would ban all Chinese labs from testing US electronics in December 2028, and may revoke direct number authorisations for Chinese companies it deems national-security risks. The regulator has previously barred China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom from providing international telecommunications services to the United States. The Chinese Embassy did not immediately comment.

The proposal is not yet law: it goes to a vote on 19 November. But the direction is clear, and it is the latest step in a long US effort to push Chinese firms out of American telecoms infrastructure on security grounds.

Sources: Reuters and a republication of the Reuters report. The facts rest on the Reuters wire report and the FCC statements it quotes.