House panel approves additional funding for FCC rip-and-replace program

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee has approved legislation to expand the pool of available funds for the Federal Communications Commission’s program to help rid U.S. networks of equipment made by untrustworthy vendors including Huawei and ZTE.

Congress appropriated $1.9 billion in 2020 to fund the rip-and-replace program for rural telecoms that receive support from the Universal Service Fund. However, the FCC found there was a significantly higher demand from eligible providers when the application filing window closed in January....