Monday, July 18, 2022

FCC prorates grants under Rip-n-Replace at 39%

 The FCC has begun approving reimbursements for the removal and replacement of equipment from Huawei and ZTE under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (Reimbursement Program).

The Reimbursement Program is funded by a $1.9 billion congressional appropriation.

In February, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel first notified Congress that providers initially requested approximately $5.6 billion under the program.

Because demand for program support exceeds available funding, the FCC confirmed that it is implementing a prioritization scheme that requires funding to be allocated first to approved applicants that have 2,000,000 or fewer customers (Priority 1).

After review of the submitted applications, the FCC has determined that Priority 1 applicants have submitted approximately $4,640,284,672 in cost estimates that are reasonable and supported. 

Because available funding is substantially less than that amount, the Commission rules require that allocations to Priority 1 applicants be prorated on an equal basis. The pro-rata factor applied to those allocations is approximately 39%.

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-announces-supply-chain-reimbursement-program-approved-applications

FCC sees strong demand for Rip-n-Replace as requests top $5.6 billion

 FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel notified Congress that providers have initially requested approximately $5.6 billion from the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program to cover the costs of removing, replacing, and disposing of insecure equipment and services in U.S. networks.“Last year Congress created a first-of-its kind program for the FCC to reimburse service providers for their efforts to increase the security...

Biden signs Secure Equipment Act

President Biden signed into law the “Secure Equipment Act of 2021,” which requires the Federal Communications Commission to adopt rules clarifying that it will no longer review or approve any authorization application for equipment that poses an unacceptable risk to national security.The bill would prevent further integration and sales of Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua – all Chinese state-backed or directed firms – in the U.S. regardless...