The FCC, at the direction of the administration, recently proposed a ban on equipment subsidies for telecoms that use equipment or technology from companies considered to be threats to U.S. security; that could leave dozens of small, rural cell providers that rely on inexpensive equipment from companies like Huawei and ZTE without working cell towers and reduced coverage, including 911 emergency services.
John Nettles, president of family-owned Pine Belt Communications, which operates in five low-income Alabama counties, told McClatchy: “Those people can only get service from me. If that service goes away, then they get isolated again.”
If the FCC ruling goes into effect, some rural providers will have to replace equipment and cut back on infrastructure in order to remain operational, Inside Towers reported. According to United TelCom Chief Executive Todd Houseman, some customers only have cellular service, no landlines, so if coverage is lost, their inability to call first responders would “threaten the safety of life, health, and property in those locations.” Additionally, many rural first responders rely on rural carrier networks, Caressa Bennet, general counsel for the Rural Wireless Association, told McClatchy.
It’s a safety concern, according to Nettles. “When deer season comes in around Thanksgiving there’s a large influx of people on Saturdays and Sundays coming for that purpose. They want to be able to call back home or reach 911. Hunters do have accidents,” he said.
Sagebrush Cellular, a small wireless provider in Scobey, MT, has a reach that extends to 173 miles of the U.S.-Canadian border. Some 75 U.S. Border Patrol officers monitor roads near the border and communicate on the Sagebrush network. There’s a possibility an agent would be roaming on that network which was “lawfully built,” and contains Huawei equipment, according to Nettles.
July 16, 2018
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