David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote next week on an annual defense bill that includes just over $3 billion for U.S. telecommunications companies to remove equipment from Chinese telecom companies Huawei and ZTE (HK: ) from U.S. wireless networks to addressing security risks.
The 1,800-page text was released Saturday night and includes other anti-China provisions, including a request for a report on Chinese efforts to evade U.S. national security regulations and an intelligence assessment of the current status of China’s biotech capabilities.
The Federal Communications Commission said it estimated it would cost $4.98 billion to remove the unsafe equipment, but Congress had previously authorized only $1.9 billion for the “rip and replace” program.
Washington has aggressively urged US allies to purge Huawei and other Chinese equipment from their wireless networks.
FCC (BME:) President Jessica Rosenworcel last week again called on the US Congress to urgently provide additional funding, saying the program to replace equipment in the networks of 126 carriers faces a shortfall of $3.08 billion “which also puts our national security at risk and the connectivity of rural consumers who depend on these vulnerable networks.”
She warned that a lack of funding could result in the shutdown of some rural networks, which “could eliminate the sole provider in some regions” and could threaten the emergency service.
Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan on Saturday praised the announcement, saying “the funds are desperately needed to meet the mandate to remove and replace covered equipment and services while maintaining connectivity for tens of millions of Americans.”
In 2019, Congress told the FCC to require US telecommunications carriers that receive federal subsidies to clear their networks of Chinese telecommunications equipment. The White House has requested $3.1 billion for the program in 2023.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell said up to $500 million in program funding for regional tech hubs will be covered by funds generated from the FCC’s one-time spectrum auction for advanced wireless spectrum in the band known as AWS-3 to help meet growing demand of wireless consumers for spectrum.
