During the FCC oversight hearing Thursday before the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, Brett Guthrie (R-KY) asked whether the $3.7 billion shortfall in the Rip & Replace reimbursement fund is “real.”
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency will be able to say definitively on June 15. Personnel are assessing the 181 applications.
She gave three reasons for the shortfall: First, the $1.9 billion fund set-up by Congress was on a voluntary basis and companies that had never applied for FCC reimbursement did so. Second, Congress expanded the program to reimburse smaller carriers for building new networks and later “ripping out” untrusted gear from Huawei and ZTE. Originally, it was to include carriers with one million or fewer customers. Lawmakers expanded the fund to reimburse carriers with 10 million or fewer customers. And third, “It’s not uncommon for applicants to ask for things” not included in the law, Rosenworcel explained.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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