The US Federal Communications Commission has said it would open a $1.9 billion program to reimburse mostly rural US telecom carriers for removing network equipment made by Chinese companies deemed national security threats like Huawei and ZTE Corp.
The program, which was finalized in July, will open October the 29th for applications through January the 14th, 2022.
Last year, the FCC designated Huawei and ZTE as national security threats to communications networks – a declaration that barred US businesses from tapping an $8.3 billion government fund to purchase equipment from the companies. The FCC in December adopted rules requiring carriers with ZTE or Huawei equipment to “rip and replace” that equipment.
The issue is a big one for rural carriers that face high costs and difficulty finding workers to remove and replace equipment.
The FCC’s final order expanded the companies eligible for reimbursement from those with 2 million or fewer customers to those with 10 million or fewer customers.
The FCC in September 2020 estimated it would cost $1.837 billion to remove and replace Huawei Technologies and ZTE equipment from networks.
In June, the FCC voted to advance a plan to ban approvals for equipment in US telecommunications networks from Chinese companies deemed national security threats like Huawei Technologies and ZTE. The FCC could also revoke prior equipment authorizations issued to Chinese companies. In March, the FCC designated five Chinese companies as posing a threat to national security under a 2019 law aimed at protecting American communications networks.
The affected companies included the previously designated Huawei and ZTE, as well as Hytera Communications Corp, Hangzhou Hikvision and Zhejiang Dahua.
In August 2020, the US government barred federal agencies from buying goods or services from any of the five Chinese companies.
The team at Platform Executive hope you have enjoyed the ‘[post_title]’ article. Automatic translation from English to a growing list of languages via Google AI Cloud Translation. Initial reporting via our official content partners at Thomson Reuters. Reporting by David Shepardson. Editing by Steve Orlofsky.
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