Across the vast and varied landscape of the United States, millions of Americans reside in, work, and visit rural and remote areas, far from our bustling urban centers. These wide, open spaces and challenging terrain are home to families, farmers, outdoor enthusiasts, and small-business owners, key to our nation’s cultural and economic fabric. Like in more densely populated areas, reliable access to wireless and communications services plays a key role in modern life, from economic, social, and educational opportunities to access to public safety and emergency services.
Worryingly, lack of funding for a critical congressional mandate means that too many of these communities face a significant threat to connectivity and security due to untrusted foreign telecommunications infrastructure. In early 2020, the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act was signed into law, creating the “Rip-and-Replace” program to remove communications network equipment and services found to pose risk to our national security, including from companies that have been linked to the Chinese Communist Party. The potential exploitation of our networks for surveillance or cyber-attacks on American soil is a risk too great to ignore — which is why Congress created the replacement program.
Unfortunately, this program cannot succeed without full funding. Initial funding now provided by Congress has been divided up and the impacted wireless carriers can access only up to 40% of otherwise approve.