FCC Made Changes to Rip-and-Replace Draft
The FCC order modifying rules for the $1.9 billion program for removing Huawei and ZTE from carrier networks, which cleared 4-0 on Tuesday, got changes from the draft. The order was listed in Thursday’s Daily Digest. One change, discussed Tuesday…
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(see 2107130058), is new language on possible federal siting permit delays raised by Union Wireless. “We direct the Wireline Competition Bureau to consider delays in federal permitting as one potential factor to consider when reviewing requests for extensions of time,” the order said. It included new language rejecting requests for a blanket six-month extension of program deadlines: “Such requests to extend a deadline that is not yet established are premature, and run counter to the intent of Congress of having a one-year removal, replacement, and disposal term.” The order added language to not prioritize eligible telecom carriers over non-ETCs. “This scheme is most consistent with congressional intent and it will allow, as Congress intended, all providers of advanced communications services to begin the necessary work of removing insecure communications equipment and services from their networks,” the order now says. The final version added clarifying language on one type of upgrade permissible under the program, voice over LTE, which will be “treated as a comparable replacement for an older mobile wireless network.”