CCA Warns of Rip-and-Replace Delays

Competitive Carriers Association representatives met with FCC Wireline Bureau staff on delays small carriers face in receiving reimbursement through the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2311160063). CCA members noted that “circumstances, technology, and pricing have changed since their original Reimbursement Program applications were filed,” said a filing Friday in docket 18-89: “Programmatic delays are causing significant financial and business hardships. Participants are being forced to refrain from scheduling more project work pending reimbursements, diverting resources from other projects while waiting for reimbursements, withholding or staggering modification requests in an inefficient way to allow some reimbursements to be completed, and incurring significant non-reimbursable financing costs while waiting for reimbursements.”