Committee Leaders Urge FCC to Assist Companies Replacing Suspect Network Equipment

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai today urging him to assist companies as they prepare and plan to replace suspect network equipment, including companies eligible for reimbursement under the Secure and Trusted Reimbursement Program. The program was established by Pallone and Walden’s H.R. 4998, the Secure and Trusted Communications Network Act, which was signed into law earlier this year. While it has not yet been funded, the bipartisan Committee leaders say there is every expectation it will be, and the FCC should begin immediately to initiate certain implementation steps. The two Committee leaders encourage the FCC to develop and release a list of eligible equipment and software, for example, as well as reassure companies that they will not jeopardize their eligibility for reimbursement under the Program just because their replacement purchases were made before it was funded.