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FCC Blacklists Los Angeles Firm Digitalsystem and Denies It Permission to Handle International Telecom Traffic

Regulators said the company's foreign ownership alongside operational ties to Chinese carriers create exploitable pathways for interception, disruption or misrouting of U.S. communications.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) logo is seen before the FCC Net Neutrality hearing in Washington February 26, 2015. The FCC is expected Thursday to approve Chairman Tom Wheeler's proposed "net neutrality" rules, regulating broadband providers more heavily than in the past and restricting their power to control download speeds on the web. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS TELECOMS LOGO)

Overview

  • The FCC added California-based Digitalsystem Technology to its national-security risk list and denied the company authority to provide international telecommunications services, a move announced in early July 2026.
  • The agency cited ownership by a Chinese national and operational links with PCCW, China Unicom and China Mobile as grounds for the decision and warned those ties could be used to collect, disrupt or misroute U.S. communications.
  • The agency’s order noted Digitalsystem had listed Huawei, ZTE, Dahua and Hikvision as partners on its website and later relabeled them as clients, a change the FCC said undermined the company’s candor for mitigation.
  • An interagency committee recommended denying Digitalsystem’s application because regulators found mitigation measures infeasible and concluded foreign adversary control presented substantial and unacceptable risks.
  • The action extends a broader FCC campaign that has already barred major Chinese carriers from U.S. international service and restricted imports of certain Chinese-made telecom equipment, which could affect how U.S. carriers connect with foreign providers.