By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The House of Representatives in the US is expected to vote next week on an annual security bill that includes more than three billion dollars for American telecommunications companies to remove equipment made by Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE from American wireless networks to deal with threats. .
The 1,800-page document was released late Saturday and includes other provisions aimed at China, including requiring a report on China’s efforts to circumvent US national security regulations and an intelligence assessment of the current state of China’s biotechnology capabilities.
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The Federal Communications Commission has said that removing unsecured equipment is estimated to cost $490 billion, but Congress has previously approved $1.9 billion for a “rip and replace” program.
Washington has aggressively urged US allies to remove Huawei and other Chinese equipment from their wireless networks.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel last week called again on the US Congress to provide additional funding immediately, saying that the plan to replace equipment in the networks of 123 carriers faces a shortfall of $3.8 billion “putting national security and the connectivity of rural customers who rely on them. These networks are at risk.” .”
He warned the lack of funding could cause some rural lines to close, which “could take away a single provider in some counties” and could threaten 911 service.
The head of the Competitive Carriers Association, Tim Donovan on Saturday, praised the announcement, saying “the money is much needed to fulfill the task of removing and replacing closed equipment and services while protecting the connection of tens of millions of Americans.”
In 2019, Congress told the FCC to require US carriers that receive government subsidies to remove their networks from Chinese telecommunications equipment. The White House in 2023 requested $3.1 billion for this program.
The chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Mrs. Maria Cantwell, said that the cost of this program and up to $500 million dollars for the technology districts will be covered by the money generated from a one-time spectrum auction by the FCC for the best wireless in the band known as AWS-3 to help. to meet the rising demand of wireless customers.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sandra Maler)