Rural Wireless Carriers Are Dragged Into Trade War by FCC Ban

Rural wireless phone companies caught in a geopolitical standoff after the Federal Communications Commission banned federal subsidies to buy network gear from two Chinese companies.

Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. -- that have been deemed a security threat by the Trump administration -- supply some of the lowest-cost gear that lets small-budget rural carriers connect far-flung customers. The ban announced Friday means about a dozen companies will be short of money for operations.

“It’s definitely going to be a hardship,” said Carri Bennet an attorney for the Rural Wireless Association, a Washington-based trade group for small phone companies. “Our ...