UPDATE Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) President/CEO Tim Donovan appreciates an update on Rip & Replace that FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel gave to Congress. She reiterated the urgency and problems faced by program participants.
Lack of full funding for the program and time are big problems. The program gives reimbursement recipients a year to remove, replace and dispose untrusted gear from Huawei and ZTE from their networks. That July 1 deadline looms.
“As the Chairwoman notes, the FCC must proceed despite a $3.08 billion funding shortfall,” says Donovan. “Many CCA members participating in the program are the only providers in the rural areas they serve. They cannot successfully ‘Rip and Replace’ untrusted equipment and continue to provide service for their subscribers, as well as roaming customers from other carriers, with less than 40 percent of their approved costs funded.”
Donovan said: “Congress created the program as a national security mandate. Lawmakers can ensure its success by acting to fully fund” the program.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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