It will cost $1.8 billion to pull Huawei and ZTE out of US networks, FCC says
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Removing Chinese equipment will cost small carriers as much as $1.8 billion, according to a new report from the Federal Communications Commission. The report estimates that as much as $1.6 billion of the cost would be eligible for federal reimbursement - but Congress has yet to appropriate the necessary funds.
Significant national security concerns have been raised about the use of Huawei and ZTE equipment in US networks - but many small carriers are still struggling with the cost of replacing it. In one instance, Eastern Oregon Telecom told The Verge that replacing the $500,000 of Huawei equipment was likely to cost as much as $1.5 million - a cost too high for the small carrier to shoulder on its own. Today's report makes clear that...