A public-private partnership between the government and the telecom industry is essential to securing America’s communications networks and their supply chains, witnesses from Qualcomm and Ericsson told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday. Members of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology discussed legislation that would pour more money into beefing up chip manufacturing in the U.S., how the government can foster the development of Open Radio Access Networks (Open-RAN), and clarifying the roles of the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in securing wireless networks and supply chains for 5G.
Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA), credited the telecom industry for getting the country through the pandemic. “While the pandemic is not yet over, it is clear that the need and demand for connectivity will just keep growing,” he said.
The subcommittee is considering nine bills, nearly all bipartisan, that delve into all aspects of securing telecom networks. “It is critical that we push back against Huawei and others who are undercutting the trusted supply chain,” said Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), ranking member of the full House Energy and Commerce Committee. She supports a measure that directs NTIA to identify which components are risky, for example.
Dileep Srihari is Senior Policy Counsel for technology public policy consultants Access Partnership. Srihari explained that open networks “enable disaggregation of certain elements, like the base station.” He suggested lawmakers provide funding for test beds and for small companies to take part in standards-setting. “Congress should streamline access for Open RAN funding,” he said.
Jason Boswell, head of Security for Network Product Solutions at Ericsson, said the company works with Qualcomm, Intel, and other chip makers to source product from U.S. companies. He also referenced Ericsson’s opening of a $100 million 5G smart factory in Texas last year as evidence it considers supply chain security essential.
Even before the pandemic, Ericsson “initiated a regional verification strategy to reduce our reliance on just one vendor,” for any one component, he said.
Boswell walked lawmakers through Ericsson’s vetting process for both hardware and software, with authentication at every level. “It’s about doing things at each layer…for an end-to-end framework. It starts with the code and ends with the field tech at the side of the tower with a baseband radio.” The security process, “starts at the keyboard,” and continues “to the moment it’s up on a tower.”
Dean Brenner, senior vice president, Spectrum Strategy and Tech Policy for Qualcomm, stressed that the company “doesn’t sit back and wait for new spectrum.” When the FCC allocated 6 GHz for WiFi we had new chips ready to go.” It will be the same with C-band, he testified. “We’ll have chips for the new band.” He emphasized the government should keep freeing up low, mid- and high-band spectrum for future wireless needs.
The need to secure current networks as well as those for 5G and 6G were discussed. Doyle’s Future Networks Act directs the FCC to create a task force for 6G. He asked Brenner how such a task force could be useful.
“We’re still in the early days of 5G. However, there isn’t going to be 6G without [more] spectrum,” said Brenner. He also stressed the need for more cell sites, saying the task force could work on this as well. “5G mmWave delivers 5G 15 times faster. To do that, we need more sites. It’s never too early to have collaboration [between government and industry] about where to put those new sites.”
Doyle asked how long of a process there is between 5G development and deployment. Brenner said: “Every government in the world wants their country to be the leader in 5G. It’s a five to eight-year process to design, test and get chips ready so when a standard is finished [the company] can get products into consumer’s hands.”
Boswell said it’s important to focus on 6G while rolling out 5G. “If we had not already started on the race to 6G we’d already be behind.” He agreed with Brenner each product cycle takes between eight to 10 years.
The questions turned to Huawei’s role in standards-setting bodies. “As a leader in the wireless industry we have interactions with them,” said Brenner. “Because at the end of the process we want Qualcomm chips to get in devices all over the world.” He said the company has “a large base of employees” working in China. He noted that at times, “there are conflicts” between the two due to geopolitics, but emphasized “we don’t have the option of withdrawing” from that relationship.
Here are the nine bills subcommittee members have introduced and continue to refine:
- H.R. 4029, the “Timely Evaluation of Acquisitions, Mergers or Transactions with External, Lawful Entities to Clear Owners and Management Act” or the “TEAM TELECOM Act”
- H.R. 4045, the “Future Uses of Technology Upholding Reliable and Enhanced Networks Act” or the “FUTURE Networks Act”
- H.R. 4046, the “NTIA Policy and Cybersecurity Coordination Act”
- H.R. 4055, the “American Cybersecurity Literacy Act”
- H.R. 4067, the “Communications Security Advisory Act of 2021”
- H.R. 2685, the “Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act”
- H.R. 3919, the “Secure Equipment Act of 2021”
- H.R. 4028, the “Information and Communication Technology Strategy Act”
- H.R. 4032, the “Open RAN Outreach Act”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
Reader Interactions