Why robocall scams can start with a direct link to Chinese telecom firms

According to Mediacorp, the US Federal Communications Commission plans to vote on 19 November on a proposal to ban China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom from direct access to US phone numbers. The target is not the companies themselves. It is the path a robocall takes to reach a phone, and how cheap that path has become.

Direct access matters because of how modern calls are routed. Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, turns a voice into digital data and sends it over broadband rather than a traditional phone line. Direct access to US numbers is the cheapest way to do this, and it also makes advanced calling features easier to offer. That combination of low cost and flexibility is exactly what makes a robocall operation viable at scale.

Where the scam call actually begins

A scam robocall does not start with a scammer dialling a number by hand. It starts with infrastructure: a provider with direct access to US numbers, routing enormous volumes of calls cheaply through VoIP systems. Strip out that direct access, and the economics of mass robocalling get harder for anyone using it to reach US phones through these particular providers.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr described the move as strengthening "our first line of defence against bad actors and illegal robocallers." The proposal also covers other IP-enabled service providers using equipment from companies the FCC considers national security risks, including Huawei and ZTE. Separately, the FCC plans to ban all Chinese labs from testing US electronics starting in December 2028, and may revoke direct number authorisations from other Chinese companies it judges risky.

This builds on an earlier step. The FCC had already barred China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom from providing international telecommunications services into the United States. Other measures now under consideration include barring these firms from connecting to US networks at all, and from operating data centres inside the country.

The national security backdrop

The timing connects to a specific incident. In late 2024, Washington said a Chinese state-sponsored group known as Salt Typhoon had stolen consumers' call records and US call data, and had infiltrated US telecommunications and telecom infrastructure firms. The FBI said this year that threats from Salt Typhoon are "still very much ongoing." In July, the FCC added a California-based company, Digitalsystem Technology, to its list of national security risks, citing links to Chinese telecom firms and ownership by a Chinese national.

None of this changes what a robocall sounds like on a ringing phone. The tell has always been the same: an unexpected call, often about a package, a fine, or an urgent account problem, asking for information or payment fast. What this proposal targets is the plumbing behind the call, not the script read once someone picks up.