US must fully fund ‘rip and replace’ of Huawei, ZTE telecom equipment
During the last week, Americans’ eyes have been on the sky as the Chinese Communist Party’s spy balloon traveled from coast to coast surveilling us from above. While I am incredibly concerned about why the CCP was using this tool to spy on the American people, the CCP may already be in your backyard. As wireless providers across the country built out next-gen broadband networks over the past decade, many incorporated equipment from Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei and ZTE. In 2019, Congress recognized the presence of Chinese equipment in America’s networks posed a national security threat and passed rules that disincentivized companies from using this equipment in their networks, and later banned the import of new equipment. To help the companies that had already invested in Chinese equipment, Congress allocated funds for them to ‘rip and replace’ the affected equipment with hardware from approved vendors. Unfortunately, Congress did not allocate enough funding, and now small network operators around the country are faced with difficult choices about the future of their services as restrictions on Chinese equipment come into force.
Like the recent spy balloon, Chinese-manufactured equipment poses a major national security threat. Because the CCP can exert influence over companies in China, we cannot be sure Chinese-manufactured equipment does not contain backdoors that allow the CCP to monitor our communications. While we do not know the true impacts of this equipment being used in our wireless networks, it is possible that the CCP is using it to spy on the American people. While expensive and inconvenient, the safety and security of our nation rely on the removal of this equipment.
In 2019, Congress allocated $1.9 billion through the Secure and Trusted Communications Network Act (STCNA) to reimburse small cellular and broadband providers for the cost of replacing Huawei and ZTE equipment on their networks. In July 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reported that requests through the rip and replace program had exceeded available funding by more than $3 billion. FCC rules are now preventing affected equipment from receiving updates and small wireless companies don’t have the money to replace the equipment. These networks could go offline if anything breaks.
Like so many things, the rip and replace issue started with Congress and is being perpetuated by Congress. I am rarely one to advocate for more government funding, but in this case, it is necessary to fulfill this obligation. Congress, for essential national security reasons, required a costly change for small businesses across the country, so it is our responsibility to help shoulder that burden.
People in rural Wyoming who rely on small cellular and broadband carriers to not only keep in touch with friends and family, but also access lifesaving emergency services are greatly impacted by the availability of these networks and will face dire consequences if Congress does not act.
The reality is if Congress does not assist these small carriers with this lofty project, large carriers that can afford to overhaul their networks will edge the smaller competitors out. In places like my home state of Wyoming, large carriers do not provide cell phone service in many of our rural areas. Small carriers fill that gap and ensure that remote areas can still access cell phone service. This is essential for life out west.
Last Congress, I cosigned a bipartisan letter [warner.senate.gov] with 33 of my Senate colleagues urging Senate leadership to move forward on fully funding the rip and replace reimbursement program. Without this funding, we leave rural Americans vulnerable. They will not be able to access telehealth services, receive emergency notifications, or participate in our 21st century economy. The well-being of rural communities is dependent on this program.
I urge my colleagues in the Senate, and especially those who I serve alongside on the Senate Commerce Committee, to make this a top priority this year. We’ve seen in the past few weeks why we must prevent the CCP from spying on the American people. I fear that without action, we will be allowing surveillance in American homes, or even worse, threatening the connectivity of people in our most rural communities.
Lummis is a member of the Commerce Committee and the chair of the Senate Western Caucus.
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