The US finalizes the plan to remove and replace Huawei and ZTE telecommunications equipment

The program is intended to support the costs of small carriers in the US in the process of replacing telecommunications equipment from Huawei and ZTE to ensure security. To be funded, a business must serve 10 million or fewer customers. This threshold is much higher than the previous 2 million customer recommendation. Eligible companies that purchased Huawei or ZTE equipment before June 30, 2020 can apply for a replacement cost refund.

US officials have long argued that Huawei and ZTE collect sensitive information for China, despite the companies’ repeated denials. Under former President Donald Trump, the US added a series of Chinese enterprises to the economic blacklist, including Huawei, chip maker SMIC, drone maker SZ DJI Technology.

In an effort to further isolate Huawei, Trump also urged allies to ban Huawei from 5G networks such as the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also called Huawei and other Chinese state-owned companies “the Trojan horse for Chinese intelligence”.

In April this year, the administration of President Joe Biden added seven Chinese supercomputer organizations to the list of sanctions for “building supercomputers for China’s military forces, efforts to modernize the military. with/or a destabilizing weapons of mass destruction program”.

According to US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, “supercomputing capabilities are vital to the development of many – perhaps nearly all – modern weapons and national security systems, such as nuclear weapons. human, hypersonic weapons”.

Huawei America Vice President Glenn Schloss expressed disappointment at the vote, calling the program an “unrealistic attempt to tackle something that hasn’t been damaged”. “The FCC’s initiative only presents a serious challenge for carriers in the most rural, remote areas of the United States to maintain service levels and quality without disruption.” .