Small Carriers Face Huge Costs if Chinese Equipment Must Be Replaced, RWA Official Says

The cost to Rural Wireless Association members of replacing network equipment from Huawei and ZTE could run as high as $1 billion, RWA General Counsel Carri Bennet said in a call with the Capitol Forum, posted Wednesday. RWA members used equipment in good faith from the Chinese equipment makers because they were able to get it at a lower cost than from other vendors and it has proven to work well, Bennet said. In December, reports surfaced that President Donald Trump would sign an executive order barring on national security grounds U.S. companies from using Huawei and ZTE telecom equipment (see 1902060056). “We've seen speculation” that the ban will be on “Huawei, but we're assuming ZTE as well. … We don't know if that's a going forward ban for 5G technology or if it's going to impact the 3G and 4G technology that's already been deployed,” Bennet said. RWA members are concerned about costs for ripping out and replacing the equipment, she said. “They would need funding,” she said. “We've looked at this from a constitutional standpoint of whether it's a ‘takings’ under the Constitution and whether the government would pay for the replacement for other network gear.”