A few days ago, it was reported that Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai left an order to remove telecom gear manufactured by Chinese companies. This was reported as the chairman’s last order before he steps down from his current position in January. In its place, the U.S. government is close to approving a $1.9 billion program that will implement this “rip and replace” order.
For years now, the equipment manufactured by Chinese brands Huawei and ZTE have been rumored to have a backdoor that gathers data from US corporations and consumers. Up to this day, the government has named both companies as national security threats even though it still has to discover this backdoor. As a result, these manufacturers have been banned from accessing US suppliers and block them from international foundries.
This has also led rural carriers to be blocked from tapping into the allocated $8.3 billion Universal Service Fund (USF) for purchasing networking gear from either of the two brands. The government has also demanded smaller carriers to “rip and replace” gear from Huawei and ZTE.
But before they start doing so, rural carriers will need to wait until the project gets full funding. According to today’s report, however, it looks like this could happen anytime soon. The bill is said to establish “a temporary, emergency broadband benefit program at the FCC to help low-income Americans, including those economically-challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, get connected or remain connected to broadband.”
The program will also be providing qualified households a $50 monthly subsidy that will “help them afford broadband service and an internet-connected device.”
In order to receive funding from the government, the rural carriers need to meet their requirements. For starters, they must have less than 10 million subscribers. The FCC is even prioritizing providers with less than 2 million subscribers.
