NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, joined WIA, CCA and other telecom-related associations in stressing to Congress the need to fully fund “Rip & Replace.”
They explained that the program to support the carriers that remove and replace network equipment and services linked to the Chinese Communist Party is “significantly underfunded.” That’s a reference to the $3.08 billion shortfall.
“At the direction and advice of Congress and the FCC, carriers began the ‘Rip and Replace’ process of removing such equipment before the program was underway, with the understanding that they would be fully reimbursed. However, many are now stranded mid-effort,” said the associations in a letter to the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. The letter was entered into the record for a hearing the committee held last week addressing the Chinese Communist Party’s threat to America.
The shortfall has meant that participating carriers only received 40 percent of the funding they were due. The associations explained such carriers can’t complete the job without the rest of the money. The time to complete the program is short, this July, because the FCC’s clock on completing the work was only to last one year.
“They have been largely prohibited from servicing or upgrading their networks for years, increasing chances for network degradation or even failure, and leaving their communities behind as technology evolves to 5G and beyond,” the associations explained. Failing to fully fund the program means carriers cannot entirely remove untrusted equipment, they noted. “In addition to unmitigated security threats, another consequence could be carriers completely shuttering their networks due to the inability to fund their projects. This would threaten the availability of advanced communications across the country, particularly in rural America, where ubiquitous connectivity challenges already abound.”
Recent congressional efforts to fix the shortfall have not succeeded. For example, language to fully fund the program was in a bill to reauthorize the FCC’s auction authority in the last Congress. However, that measure didn’t pass.
Additional associations signing the letter were: NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association, Rural Wireless Association, Telecommunications Industry Association, USTelecom – The Broadband Association and WTA — Advocates for Rural Broadband.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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