Baicells Technologies is being investigated by the US Commerce Department and FBI amid possible security concerns.

As reported by Reuters, the company's ties to China are a concern to the US government, according to sources and documents seen by the website.

Founded in 2014 by senior Huawei veterans, the Chinese hardware company provides 4G and 5G radios, plus products for mobile, fixed wireless, and private wireless networks worldwide.

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It's reported that the Commerce Department has been investigating Baicells on national security grounds and has sent subpoenas to the company. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is also advising on the review.

Meanwhile, the FBI has reportedly been keeping tabs on the software firm since at least 2019.

"Reviewing this would be near the top of my list," John Carlin, the Justice Department's former top national security attorney, said to Reuters, noting that Baicells raises similar types of risks as Huawei.

Baicells has been operating in the US since 2015 and has provided telecom equipment for 700 commercial mobile networks across every US state.

The report about Baicells comes after the Department of Defense (DoD) added the company to a long list of 134 companies that it says work with the Chinese military.

Baicells said it plans to appeal the DoD's decision, and also told Reuters that it will cooperate fully with US government inquiries.

"Baicells does not believe there are any security risks associated with its radio products," said Sun Lixin, Beijing-based chairman of Baicells Technologies Ltd.

Another Huawei situation?

The US has a history of suspecting Chinese companies to be a threat to their national security, notably Huawei and ZTE.

In his first term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in May 2019 that gave the federal government power to block US companies from purchasing any foreign-made telecommunications equipment deemed a national security risk.

The move was particularly focused on Huawei, and led to the vendor facing severe restrictions on its use of Google Mobile Services (Android OS), which in turn severely hurt Huawei's smartphone business.

In 2022, the US banned approvals of new telecommunications equipment from Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE, amid national security fears.

The Biden Administration said at the time that two companies posed "an unacceptable risk" to US national security.

Further tensions

Last month, the Commerce Department outlined further plans to crack down on China Telecom, a Chinese mobile carrier, noting that it wants to push a ban on the company's remaining units in the US.

All this comes amid heightened tensions between the two countries, in a week where the future of Chinese app TikTok in the US at least, hangs in the balance.

In November, the US said that China was responsible for a hack against T-Mobile, which it claimed had become the latest carrier to be hacked by China.

The hackers, part of a group called Salt Typhoon, have been able to listen in on audio calls in real-time and have, in some cases, moved from one telecom network to another.

The alleged attack on T-Mobile followed reports of similar attacks against other US telcos, including AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen Technologies.

T-Mobile noted that its defenses worked as designed, meaning that sensitive customer information wasn't exposed, nor was there any disruption to its services, as it was able to stop the attack from advancing.

Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a former telecom venture capitalist, said the hack was the "worst telecom hack in our nation’s history."