US lawmakers want to help rural telecoms replace Huawei, ZTE equipment

WASHINGTON: A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation on Wednesday to provide about US$700 million in grants to help U.S. telecommunications providers with the cost of removing Huawei equipment from their networks.

"With so much at stake, our communications infrastructure must be protected from threats posed by foreign governments and companies like Huawei," Tom Cotton, a Republican senator co-sponsoring the bill, said in a statement. While large U.S. wireless companies have severed ties with Huawei, small rural carriers have leaned on Huawei and ZTE switches and equipment because they are often less expensive.The Rural Wireless Association, which represents carriers with fewer than 100,000 subscribers, estimates that 25 percent of its members have Huawei and ZTE in their networks, and have said it would cost US$800 million to US$1 billion to replace it.

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Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »