Huawei has urged the FCC not to go ahead with officially designating the company as a national security risk.
The US has not shied away from expressing its concerns about Huawei over the years and claims the Chinese telecoms giant has ties with Beijing. Huawei has always denied the allegations.
While few American operators use Huawei's equipment because of the US government's position, there was never really a penalty for doing so.
In November, the FCC voted 5-0 to initially designate Huawei and ZTE as a national security risk. The move would mean any operator using either company's telecoms gear would be ineligible for government subsidies, including an $8.5 billion fund for rural carriers to help purchase equipment for addressing coverage problems.
Huawei says the FCC's decision is “unlawful and misguided.”
In a nearly 200-page filing with the FCC, Huawei claims that the action is “a campaign by certain government officials, including members of Congress, to single out Huawei for burdensome and stigmatizing restrictions, put it out of business in the United States, and impugn its reputation here and around the world.”
Around the world, countries are making their own decisions about Huawei. Here are the stances of the 'Five Eyes' intelligence partners: Australia and New Zealand have banned Huawei's equipment, the UK will allow Huawei in a "limited role" away from critical infrastructure and sites, and Canada is yet to decide.
Aside from the UK, much of Europe is still to determine their respective positions on Huawei. German chancellor Angela Merkel is said to be facing stiff resistance from her own government over reported plans to allow the Chinese vendor's equipment.
According to South China Morning Post, three officials reported that Merkel has failed to reach a compromise with lawmakers within her government who wish to ban Huawei's equipment.
“I call on us not to slip into a new form of bipolarity,” Merkel said in a speech last month in Berlin. “Rather, we must try, with the results and experiences we have around multilateralism – to include a country like China and at least treat it on the same terms.”
Sceptics accused Merkel of having an outdated view that China's economic development would spur political reform.
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