National Security Concerns - Republican House lawmakers expressed concerns to Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft regarding national security risks associated with submarine communication cables [1] - The primary concern revolves around the potential involvement of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) controlled entities in the building, maintenance, or servicing of these cables due to their history of potential nefarious activities, including surveillance and hacking [2][3] - FCC is implementing rules to prohibit CCP-controlled entities from building, maintaining, or servicing these lines [4] Geopolitical and Economic Implications - Huawei and SPSS, companies involved in building and maintaining undersea cables, are identified as potential risks due to their ties to CCP intelligence services [3] - The US has seemingly ceded ground to CCP-controlled entities in the telecommunications landscape, particularly in Africa, due to the lack of a competitive offering similar to the Belt and Road Initiative [6] - The US's failure to provide competitive alternatives has allowed CCP-controlled entities to dominate commercial spaces in Africa, the Middle East, and developing regions [6] Policy Recommendations - There is a call for policies that would make it economically feasible for American companies to compete in the building and maintenance of submarine cables [5] - The US needs to develop policies to counter the dominance of CCP-controlled entities in telecommunications, especially in regions like Africa [5][6]