The US House of Representatives is set to vote on an annual defence bill that includes just over US$3 billion ($4.7 billion) for US telecom companies to remove equipment made by Chinese telecoms firms Huawei and ZTE from American wireless networks to address security risks.
The 1800-page text was released late Saturday and includes other provisions aimed at China, including requiring a report on Chinese efforts to evade US national security regulations and an intelligence assessment of the current status of China's biotechnology capabilities.
The Federal Communications Commission has said removing the insecure equipment is estimated to cost US$4.98 billion but Congress previously only approved US$1.9 billion for the "rip and replace" program.
Washington has aggressively urged US allies to purge Huawei and other Chinese gear from their wireless networks.
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel last week again called on the US Congress to provide urgent additional funding, saying the program to replace equipment in the networks of 126 carriers faces a US$3.08 billion shortfall "putting both our national security and the connectivity of rural consumers who depend on these networks at risk."
She has warned the lack of funding could result in some rural networks shutting down, which "could eliminate the only provider in some regions" and could threaten 911 service.
Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan praised the announcement, saying "funding is desperately needed to fulfill the mandate to remove and replace covered equipment and services while maintaining connectivity for tens of millions of Americans."
In 2019, Congress told the FCC to require US telecoms carriers that receive federal subsidies to purge their networks of Chinese telecoms equipment.
The White House in 2023 asked for US$3.1 billion for the program.
Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell said funding for the program and up to US$500 million for regional tech hubs will be covered by funds generated from a one-time spectrum auction by the FCC for advanced wireless spectrum in the band known as AWS-3 to help meet rising spectrum demands of wireless consumers.
