Congress gives small ISPs $1 billion to rip out Huawei, ZTE network gear
ISPs banned from using FCC funds on Huawei/ZTE, get $1B for replacement gear. …
reader comments
80 with 39 posters participating
View more stories
The US House and Senate approved legislation to create a $1 billion fund that will help small telecom providers remove and replace Huawei and ZTE networking equipment.
The bill, which awaits President Trump’s signature, also prohibits telcos from using Federal Communications Commission funding to purchase Huawei or ZTE equipment. But the Congressional action is largely duplicative, as the FCC had already approved a ban.
The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act was approved in voice votes by the House in December and by the Senate yesterday. It doesn’t mention Huawei or ZTE by name but says the FCC must produce a list of equipment providers “posing national security risks” and prohibits ISPs and phone companies from using FCC funding to purchase, rent, lease, or maintain equipment and services made by those companies.
The FCC already did that in November when it finalized its ban on using Universal Service funding on Huawei or ZTE equipment. Both the FCC action and the legislation allow the FCC to add providers to that list as necessary. Neither ban technically requires ISPs to remove Huawei or ZTE equipment they previously bought. But the FCC is working on another proposal to require removal of FCC-funded Huawei and ZTE equipment, and the legislation would help the FCC and ISPs make it happen.
Specifically, the bill directs the FCC to create
Continue reading – Article source
