UPDATE: The Senate Commerce Committee last week voted to pass a bill onto the full Senate for an additional $3 billion to fully fund the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) rip-and-replace program.
The recommendation was put forward to the Senate along with a request for an additional $7bn for the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).
Additional funding for ACP also sought
Founded in 2021, the ACP is a government-sponsored program that provides Internet access to low-income households in the US.
However, since June, funding for the program has run out, causing hundreds of thousands of Americans to lose Internet service.
The House bill, put forward by Representatives Nikki Budzinski and Mike Carey, is a companion bill to the Senate's Secure and Affordable Broadband Extension Act, introduced in May.
If approved, it will provide much-needed funding for the ACP, which is estimated to have supported 23 million low-income households, the vast majority of whom received $30 discounts on their monthly Internet bills.
Rip and replace
Additional funding for the rip-and-replace program, designed to remove equipment from Chinese network operators deemed a national security risk, has been sought for some time.
Earlier this year, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel urged Congress to free up more than $3bn in additional funding to help fund US carrier's replacement of Huawei and ZTE from their networks.
Initially, the FCC agreed to provide up to $1.9 billion for communications providers that have 10 million or fewer subscribers.
However, funding applications hit $4.98 billion, creating a $3.08 billion shortfall.
Since July 2022, the FCC has received more than 20,000 reimbursement claims across 122 of the 126 applications that have been approved for funding.
It was revealed in January that only five companies have completed the removal of banned Chinese telecom equipment.
The lack of funding has led some wireless carriers, including SI Wireless, to fear for their future.
"We've been engaged in this program for two years now, during which we've received just over $24 million, roughly 13 percent of the total $181 million needed to complete the rip-and-replace project for our entire network," SI Wireless president Leslie Williams told DCD in May.
