A litany of telecommunications issues before the federal government have the smallest U.S. carriers worried that Washington will hurt, or at least fail to protect, their businesses at a time when the divide between urban and rural providers is accelerating.

Among their biggest concerns is the Trump administration’s crackdown on the U.S. operations of ZTE Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co., which rural carriers rely on for low-cost telecommunications equipment. For years, both of the Chinese-owned firms have been accused by government officials of acting as conduits for Chinese espionage in the U.S.