Ripping Huawei out of US networks could be a nightmare for rural providers

Joe Franell is a fan of Huawei’s equipment. As the CEO of Eastern Oregon Telecom, he’s responsible for providing internet to about 4,000 customers, many in small communities or remote farmland. He’s been lucky: the Huawei equipment he uses has never failed, which he hasn’t been able to say about everything else in the company’s network. Plus, it’s affordable, both of which are reasons why he estimates the OR company uses about $500,000 worth of Huawei products. Franell says Eastern Oregon Telecom stopped buying Huawei equipment about a year ago, as controversy heated up around the Chinese telecom giant. But rural wireless carriers like Eastern Oregon Telecom are also looking ahead to another potential setback: being forced to cut Huawei products out of their networks entirely, a process known as “rip and replace.” Small carriers now fear that they’ll be forced to entirely replace the Chinese-made equipment in their networks, a natural extension of the security concerns that have already been aired.  If the government is going to ban the products, Franell says, he hopes it’ll happen soon, so Eastern Oregon Telecom can deal with the problem. Running a rural carrier is a tough business, and not knowing what’s next doesn’t make things easier. “Distractions are a big deal,” Franell says, “because it’s hard enough already.”