US lawmakers want to help rural telecommunications replace Huawei, ZTE equipment

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bipartisan group of US lawmakers on Wednesday tabled a law providing for grants worth about $ 700 million to help US telecom operators eliminate the cost of removing Huawei equipment from their networks.

The bill also plans to block the use of equipment or services from Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE in next-generation 5G networks, according to a statement from Senators.

The United States has accused ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd of working for the Chinese government and worried that their equipment could be used to spy on the Americans, as the claims of the Chinese government and companies are unfounded.

"With so many issues at stake, our communications infrastructure must be protected from threats emanating from governments and foreign companies such as Huawei," said Tom Cotton, Republican Senator co-sponsor of the bill, in a statement.

Mark Warner, the Senate's most senior Democrat of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Roger Wicker, Democratic Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, also support the bill.

While the big US wireless companies have broken their ties with Huawei, small rural operators rely on Huawei and ZTE switches and equipment because they are often cheaper.

The Rural Wireless Association, which represents operators with fewer than 100,000 subscribers, estimates that 25% of its members have Huawei and ZTE in their networks, which would cost between $ 800 and $ 1 billion.

The move goes further than the measures taken so far by the administration of US President Donald Trump, even though he has toughened his stance on Huawei.

Last August, Trump signed a bill banning the US government from using Huawei and ZTE equipment.

Then last week, the US Commerce Department blacklisted Huawei and 70 subsidiaries, banning the company from buying parts or components from US companies without US government approval.

Five days later, the US government temporarily eased trade restrictions, allowing the Chinese company to purchase US-made products to maintain existing networks and provide software upgrades to existing Huawei headsets.