Hong Kong carrier HKT agrees to end US services by 1 September 2027
HKT must apply to the US telecommunications regulator within 30 days to discontinue services. The agreement replaces the regulator’s pursuit of revocation with a scheduled withdrawal.
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Hong Kong telecommunications carrier HKT agreed on 30 October 2026, to stop providing international and domestic telecommunications services to and within the United States. A consent decree, a formal agreement with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), requires services to end by 1 September 2027. Reuters reviewed the decree.
The agreement means the FCC will not pursue revocation of HKT’s US operating authority. PCCW, HKT’s parent company, declined immediate comment.
The FCC’s stated security concerns
The agreement follows an FCC order issued on 15 October 2025 directing HKT and its subsidiaries to explain why revocation proceedings should not begin. The FCC cited national-security concerns and HKT’s affiliation with China Unicom, a shareholder in PCCW. China Unicom is a Chinese state-owned telecommunications operator.
Responding to that order, HKT told Nextgov/FCW it was reviewing the order, would respond to the authorities and was committed to doing its utmost to fulfill its responsibilities to stakeholders.
The FCC had previously barred China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom from providing international telecommunications services to the United States, citing broad national-security concerns.
Other restrictions are at different stages
On 29 October 2026, the FCC voted to ban all Chinese laboratories from testing US electronics starting in December 2028. It also announced plans to bar Chinese telecommunications firms from direct access to US phone numbers on national-security grounds.
Restrictions on Chinese telecommunications firms connecting to US networks and operating data centers in the United States remained under consideration.
China’s objection on 30 October specifically addressed the laboratory-testing action. China said it firmly opposed that measure and warned it would take necessary countermeasures if the United States persisted in acting unilaterally.
HKT’s next step
HKT must file an application with the FCC within 30 days to discontinue services. That is the deadline to apply, not to shut down: the decree gives the carrier until 1 September 2027 to complete its US withdrawal.
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