U.S. To 'Rip And Replace' Huawei, ZTE

The United States telecoms regulator needs an additional $3 billion to fund the removal of equipment manufactured by Chinese telecoms giants Huawei and ZTE from US networks, bringing the total cost to $4.9 billion, the agency informed Congress on Friday (Saturday, July 16, 2022 in Manila), as reported by Alexandra Alper of Reuters.

Photo Insert: The FCC labeled Huawei and ZTE as threats, requiring U.S. corporations to remove their equipment or lose access to a $8.3 billion federal fund to purchase new equipment.

"To fund all reasonable and supported cost estimates, the Reimbursement Program will require $4.98 billion, reflecting a current shortfall of $3.08 billion," Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote in a letter to Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chair Senator Maria Cantwell on Friday.

She said that since Congress only allocated $1.9 billion to pay the removal process, corporations would only be compensated for approximately 40 percent of the charges.

Congress enacted a law in 2019 mandating the FCC to compel US telecoms carriers receiving federal subsidies to purge their networks of equipment posing a threat to national security, with the promise of reimbursement.

The FCC labeled Huawei and ZTE as threats, requiring U.S. corporations to remove their equipment or lose access to a $8.3 billion federal fund to purchase new equipment. However, Congress only budgeted $1.9 billion for the so-called "rip and replace" initiative, raising worries about how well the removal program would be performed.

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