CORRECTED HEADLINE: FBI's Discovery of Huawei Gear's Military Eavesdropping Capabilities Led to FCC Ban

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As first reported by Reuters, in 2017, the U.S. Justice Department relayed national security concerns about Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei’s equipment to the Commerce Department and provided information on where the equipment was in place in the U.S.

One of the alarming incidents involving Huawei equipment, discovered by the FBI, relates to Chinese-made Huawei equipment atop cell towers near U.S. military bases in the rural Midwest. Sources say the FBI determined the equipment could capture and disrupt highly restricted Defense Department communications, including those used by U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the country’s nuclear weapons.

Those findings were a watershed moment that, unbeknownst to the public, spurred the Federal Communications Commission to initiate a rule that effectively banned small telecoms from using Huawei and a few other brands of Chinese made-equipment. However, the lack of funding for small carriers to “rip and replace” Huawei gear continues to be a …