The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could explore a possible ban on China's three major mobile carriers from operating their data centers in the US.

Reuters reports that the regulator wants to impose tougher measures on Chinese telecom companies and could ban US telecom carriers from connecting with those Chinese carriers.

The FCC noted this week that it has tentatively concluded it should prohibit American and other telecommunications carriers operating in the US from interconnecting with companies on the so-called "Covered List." This list includes companies that are deemed to be a threat to US national security, and includes China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom.

The regulator said it will look to take action to address national security risks of companies interconnecting with equipment, Points of Presence (PoPs), and data centers owned or operated by the Chinese players.

Carriers that have installed kit from other companies on the Covered List, including vendors Huawei and ZTE, may also face sanctions.

A vote on the measures is set to take place on April 30 during the FCC's next open commission meeting. Other topics set to be discussed at that meeting include a proposal to ban all Chinese labs from testing electronic devices for use in the US.

The FCC previously stated in December that it could ban China's three major telcos from connecting to US networks, in an effort to clampdown on robocalls.

In October, the FCC outlined plans to revoke the US license of Hong Kong Telecom International (HKT) to provide international and domestic telecom services to and within the United States. The FCC said it revoked the company's license due to HKT's close links to China. HKT is an affiliate of Chinese telco China Unicom.

Several Chinese telecoms companies and technology vendors in the past few years, under different US administrations, have been banned from providing services to the US.

China Unicom (Americas) Operations Ltd. (China Unicom) was banned from operating in the US in 2022. The company is 100 percent owned by China Unicom Group. Significantly, China Unicom is the second biggest shareholder of HKT parent PCCW, with an 18 percent stake.

Other Chinese telcos to lose their operating licenses in the US include China Mobile International (USA) Inc. in 2019, China Telecom (Americas) Corp. in 2021, Pacific Networks Corp., and ComNet (USA) LLC., both in 2022.