UPDATE FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel intends to collaborate with Congress to make sure there’s enough money in the Rip and Replace reimbursement fund. Inside Towers reported yesterday the agency received 181 requests for funds from carriers, adding up to some $5.6 billion so far. That’s more than the $1.9 billion allotted so far by lawmakers.
Rosenworcel said: “While we have more work to do to review these applications, I look forward to working with Congress to ensure that there is enough funding available for this program to advance Congress’s security goals and ensure that the U.S. will continue to lead the way on 5G security.”
Originally, the FCC intended the reimbursement program to only go towards carriers with two million or less customers. Later, it cast a wider net, expanding the program to include carriers with 10 million or fewer customers.
Mostly small and rural carriers are impacted by the need to first, build a new cell site, then dismantle the existing site by removing untrusted gear from Huawei and ZTE.
Competitive Carriers Association President/CEO Steve Berry thanked Rosenworcel for notifying Congress about the shortfall. He observed that both the cost estimate for demand and the number of applicants seeking funds are larger than anticipated.
Berry called the reimbursement program “critically important, especially for smaller competitive carriers, and policymakers must ensure the program is fully funded to keep rural America connected as affected carriers transition their networks.” He added: “We now know the extent of the demand and must have adequate resources to secure our networks.”
As specified in the rule as described by Cornell Law School, priority would be given to carriers with two million or few customers. “The Wireline Competition Bureau shall continue to review all funding requests and issue funding allocations by prioritization category until there are no available funds remaining. If there is insufficient funding to fully fund all requests in a particular prioritization category, then the bureau will pro-rate the available funding among all eligible providers in that prioritization category.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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