As the White House urges allies to ban Huawei equipment from the next generation of towers, many networks in the Midwest are actively trying to rid themselves of the Chinese manufacturer’s products. WOWT-TV reported that due to fears that Huawei can secretly tap into communications through its equipment, the Nebraska Public Service Commission is taking action.
Crystal Rhoades of the Nebraska Public Service Commission said, “I think the urgency on this has definitely been dialed up.
We have to protect our communications system from foreign interference.”
According to WOWT, Nebraska has identified 18 towers with Huawei equipment, most of them on the western side of the state. Since some of the towers are near missile silos, security experts worry it’s a way to spy on military installations.
“When you start to get into the public safety network, in the event they wanted to attack us — having those systems compromised would be extremely problematic. It’s also a threat to our economic stability,” added Rhoades.
The U.S. House has set aside a billion dollars to help cover the cost of replacing some of the Huawei equipment, but the bill is still pending in the U.S. Senate. At this time, there’s no estimate on what it will cost to swap out Nebraska’s Huawei equipment.
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