FCC Section 214 Covered List Exclusion – Domestic Telecommunications

Current understanding

The FCC has proposed a rulemaking to bar entities on its national-security ‘Covered List’ from providing domestic interstate telecommunications services by excluding them from blanket authority under section 214 of the Communications Act. This would extend the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act framework — which already restricts Covered List entities in equipment and international section 214 authorizations — into the domestic service authorization regime. Status: proposed rule; practical implication is that flagged entities (e.g., certain Chinese-affiliated carriers) would need individual section 214 review or be blocked from domestic interstate carriage.

Evidence log

• 2026-07-27 — Review of Submarine Cable Landing License Rules and Procedures To Assess Evolving National Security, Law Enforcement, Foreign Policy, and Trade Policy Risks: cross-connection with submarine-cable-national-security: Both are FCC national-security regimes that condition communications infrastructure authorizations on covered-entity/foreign-adversary risk assessments. (novelty: 3)
• 2026-06-24 — ICTS Supply Chain Security Act of 2026: cross-connection with icts-supply-chain-security-act-2026: Both target adversary-linked telecom/ICT participation in U.S. networks; Section 214 covered-list exclusions and ICTS transaction reviews are complementary regulatory levers. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-05-08 — Protecting Against National Security Threats in Domestic Telecommunications Service: cross-connection with fcc-equipment-authorization-national-security: Both apply the FCC Covered List / Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act framework — one to equipment authorizations, the other to domestic section 214 carrier authority — creating a layered exclusion regime for national-security-flagged telecom entities. (novelty: 3)

Open questions

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