The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously on Tuesday to finalize a $1.9 billion program to reimburse U.S. carriers for removing equipment from telecommunications networks from Chinese companies deemed national security threats like Huawei and ZTE Corp.
The FCC’s final order expands the companies eligible for reimbursement from those with 2 million or fewer customers to those with 10 million or fewer customers.
The FCC in September 2020 estimated it would cost $1.837 billion to remove and replace Huawei and ZTE equipment from networks.
Last month, the FCC voted to advance a plan to ban approvals for equipment in U.S. telecommunications networks from Chinese companies deemed national security threats like Huawei and ZTE. The FCC could also revoke prior equipment authorizations issued to Chinese companies.
