US carriers ask the FCC for $5.6 billion to replace Huawei and ZTE equipment

The price of removing Chinese equipment from American wireless networks is likely to cost more than the government had anticipated. According to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, US carriers have requested approximately $5.6 billion in reimbursements to “” their existing Huawei and ZTE infrastructure.

, the FCC voted unanimously to ban US carriers from using the Universal Service Fund to subsidize the cost of purchasing networking equipment from companies deemed a “national security threat.” The first two firms the agency added to that list were Huawei and ZTE. In 2020, former President Donald Trump signed the , mandating that carriers replace equipment from the two manufacturers.

That same year, the FCC to reimburse smaller telecom operators for replacing equipment the law had deemed a risk to national security. At the time, the agency…