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National Defense Authorization Act Passes Senate
The U.S. Senate has passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which means that once signed into law, $3.08 billion in “Rip-and-Replace” funds carriers have been waiting on, will be available—welcome news particularly for smaller carriers unable to financially support the program on their own.
The “Rip-and-Replace” program is a federal government initiative that asks telecom companies to remove Chinese equipment from their infrastructure due to cybersecurity risks.
The passing of the bill was met with cheer in the industry.
“The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is pleased to see the Senate and House pass the National Defense Authorization Act with provisions that would fully fund the Federal Communication Commission's Rip and Replace program,” said Dave Stehlin, CEO of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).
“I've experienced, firsthand, how state-owned covered entities operate on the global stage, threatening the security of our networks,” he continued. “The security of our information communications technology networks is of paramount importance, and we will continue to work with operators and manufacturers to ensure that our networks are deployed with trusted vendors.”
Stehlin called attention to recent cyberattacks against telecom that put into full perspective the need for increased precaution.
“Ensuring the security and resiliency of U.S. communications networks remains a primary goal for TIA. By fully funding this program, Congress is demonstrating their support of carriers nationwide as they continue their efforts to remove untrustworthy equipment. The recent high-profile and significant intrusions across ICT networks demonstrates that more must be done to secure our critical communications infrastructure. We urge the President to sign this important legislation.”
Spectrum is in the bill, too
To fund Rip-and-Replace, the NDAA also includes a provision authorizing the FCC to conduct an AWS-3 spectrum auction.
The spectrum licenses would be auctioned by the FCC.
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