"Removing Huawei, ZTE will cost $1.8 billion \u2013 US Regulator says"

" \n US tech industry regulator, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has said that removing Huawei and ZTE tech equipment from the United States will cost small carriers as much as $1.8 billion. \n \n\n \n This is contained in a new report from the FCC, which estimates that as much as $1.6 billion of the cost would be eligible for federal reimbursement \u2014 but the US Congress has yet to appropriate the necessary funds. \n \n\n \n Significant national security concerns \u00a0have been raised about the use of Huawei and ZTE equipment in US networks \u2014 but many small carriers are still struggling with the cost of replacing it. In one instance,\u00a0 Eastern Oregon Telecom told\u00a0 The Verge \u00a0that replacing the $500,000 of Huawei equipment was likely to cost as much as $1.5 million \u2014 a cost too high for the small carrier to shoulder on its own. \n \n\n \n The FCC report looks specifically at carriers who receive support from the Universal Service Fund, meant to subsidize coverage of underserved areas. It does not cover all carriers in the US using Huawei or ZTE equipment, and there may also be eligible carriers who have yet to report their equipment. As a result, the total cost of replacing Chinese equipment is likely even higher than the reported $1.8 billion. \n \n\n \n In June, the FCC\u00a0 officially designated Huawei and ZTE as risks to national security , forbidding telecoms from using federal subsidies to purchase their equipment going forward. But little has been done to remove the Huawei and ZTE equipment that is already in use, primarily because carriers can\u2019t afford to do so without federal assistance. \n \n\n \n Congress has yet to appropriate the money to pay for the replacement work, although it established a process for reimbursing carriers\u00a0 as part of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act in March . \n \n\n \n In a statement alongside the report, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai urged Congress to take action and allocate the necessary funds. \n \n\n \n \u201cBy identifying the presence of insecure equipment and services in our networks, we can now work to ensure that these networks\u2014especially those of small and rural carriers\u2014rely on infrastructure from trusted vendors,\u201d Pai said in a statement. \u201cI once again strongly urge Congress to appropriate funding to reimburse carriers for replacing any equipment or services determined to be a national security threat.\u201d \n "

"Removing Huawei, ZTE will cost $1.8 billion \u2013 US Regulator says"

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