USTelecom, Lumen Say Funding Is Key to Supply Chain Mandates

USTelecom and Lumen separately urged caution in the supply chain security order set for an FCC vote Thursday (see 2011190059), in calls with aides to the five commissioners. The draft “correctly defines the scope of obligations and responsibilities in that they apply only to eligible telecommunications carriers (ETC) and reimbursement participants,” USTelecom said in a filing in docket 18-89, posted Monday. A requirement to replace equipment should kick in “only if Congress appropriates the funding required for removal and replacement,” it said. Take a “broad approach” on reimbursement, Lumen said: “Although Congress has yet to appropriate funds to support the reimbursement program, legislators are actively pursuing legislation that would continue to advance this important policy.”