The
Federal
Communications
Commission
is
asking
for
more
funding
to
help
internet
service
providers
rip
and
replace
equipment
made
by
Huawei
and
ZTE.
In
a
letter
to
Congress,
FCC
Chair
Jessica
Rosenworcel
says
the
government
has
only
allocated
$1.9
billion
to
reimburse
providers,
which
is
$3.08
billion
less
than
the
$4.98
billion
the
FCC
estimates
it
will
need.
After
designating
the
China-owned
Huawei
and
ZTE
as
national
security
risks
in
2020,
former
President
Donald
Trump
signed
a
law
forcing
telecom
providers
to
“rip
and
replace”
the
equipment
from
their
networks.
However,
a
lack
of
funding
has
slowed
the
project.
In
January,
the
FCC
reported
that
only
five
program
participants
had
fully
removed,
replaced,
and
disposed
of
the
equipment
in
their
networks
that
was
manufactured
by
Huawei
or
ZTE.
In
the
letter,
Rosenworcel
says
almost
40
percent
of
providers
in
the
program
can’t
afford
to
replace
their
equipment
without
additional
money.
She
adds
that
several
companies
may
have
to
shut
down
if
they
don’t
receive
additional
funding
to
replace
equipment,
potentially
leaving
some
areas
without
service.
“Moreover,
the
inability
of
any
Reimbursement
Program
recipient
to
fully
remove,
replace,
and
dispose
of
its
covered
equipment
and
services
would
raise
national
security
concerns
by
leaving
insecure
equipment
and
services
in
our
networks,”
Rosenworcel
writes.
The
FCC
is
required
to
first
distribute
funds
to
providers
with
less
than
2
million
customers,
and
it
can
only
cover
39.5
percent
of
their
costs
due
to
the
funding
shortfall.
Companies
that
have
started
to
receive
funds
have
a
deadline
to
finish
removing
and
replacing
covered
equipment.
The
deadlines
range
from
May
29th,
2024,
to
February
4th,
2025,
based
on
when
companies
first
received
their
funds.
(Originally posted by Emma Roth)
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