Rural Broadband Associations Come Out Against Proposed FCC Moves Against Huawei

The Competitive Carriers Association (CCA), the Computer & Communications Industry Association,  ITTA – The Voice of America’s Broadband Providers (ITTA), and NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association (NTCA) have filed joint reply comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in opposition of the Commission’s proposed rule to prohibit the use of money distributed from the Universal Service Fund (USF) to purchase or obtain equipment or services from any providers identified as posing a national security risk to communications networks or the communications supply chain. The FCC proposal will impact Huawei, and perhaps others, by not allowing funds from the USF to be used to purchase or maintain equipment from them. The groups said they fully support efforts to protect the United States’ telecommunications supply chain from malicious threats, but the FCC’s proposed rule is not the best way to combat the problem. Instead, the associations recommended that the FCC and other expert agencies should focus on the national telecommunications network’s challenges from overarching national security threats.