U.S. President Joe Biden recently signed a law banning companies considered a threat to national security from acquiring new licenses for telecommunications equipment.
The Secure Equipment Act requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reject all applications from companies that are blacklisted.
This means that devices from Huawei, ZTE and three other Chinese companies can no longer be used on U.S. telecommunications networks.
Passage of the bill crossed party lines, with the Senate generating 420 votes in favor and only 4 against.
Last March, the FCC designated five Chinese companies as national security threats under a 2019 law to protect U.S. communications networks.
Chinese firms blacklisted include Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications Corp, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co, and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said the Secure Equipment Act would “help to ensure that insecure gear from companies like Huawei and ZTE can no longer be inserted into America’s communications networks”.