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FCC Says Replacing Huawei And ZTE In US Networks Will Cost Up to $1.8 Billion In Taxpayer Dollars

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The Trump Administration has raised security concerns about Huawei and ZTE, asking carriers to replace them. However, replacing them won’t be cheap. A new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) report reveals that removing both ZTE and Huawei equipment from US networks will cost small carriers up to $1.8 billion.

 

The commission estimates that up to $1.6 billion of the cost would be eligible for federal reimbursement. But the US senate has not approved anything yet. Although, it provided a process for reimbursing carriers as part of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act in March 2020.

 

The cost of replacing Huawei and ZTE in the network infrastructure is one that small carriers will struggle to bear. The Verge reports that the Eastern Oregon Telecom estimates replacing the $500,000 worth of Huawei equipment would likely cost as much as $1.5 million.

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FCC Chairman Ajit Pai urged Congress to urgently allocate the necessary funds in a statement following the report.

 

“By identifying the presence of insecure equipment and services in our networks, we can now work to ensure that these networks—especially those of small and rural carriers—rely on infrastructure from trusted vendors. I once again strongly urge Congress to appropriate funding to reimburse carriers for replacing any equipment or services determined to be a national security threat,” Pai said in the statement.

 

The FCC officially labeled Huawei and ZTE as national security risks in June 2020. This requires network providers to remove their equipment, a cost they say is too big for them to bear.

 

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