Supply Chain Reimbursement Program

On March 12, 2020, the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 (Secure Networks Act), Pub. L. No. 116-124, was signed into law. Section 4 of the Secure Networks Act, 47 U.S.C. § 1603, directed the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) to establish the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (Reimbursement Program) to reimburse providers of advanced communications services with two million or fewer customers for the removal, replacement, and disposal of covered communications equipment and services from their networks. On December 11, 2020, the Commission released a rulemaking order establishing the Reimbursement Program. The Commission tasked the Wireline Competition Bureau with implementing the Reimbursement Program. See Protecting Against National Security Threats to the Communications Supply Chain Through FCC Programs, WC Docket No. 18-89, Second Report and Order, 35 FCC Rcd 14284 (2020) (Second Report and Order). On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), Pub. L. 116-260, became law, appropriating $1.9 billion for the Commission to “carry out” the Reimbursement Program and amending the Reimbursement Program to, among other things, increase eligibility to those providers of advanced communications services with ten million or fewer customers. The Commission adopted a rulemaking order on July 13, 2021, to implement the amendments contained in the CAA, FCC 21-86. Consistent with the CAA, the Commission expanded Reimbursement Program eligibility to providers with ten million or fewer customers and limited the use of Reimbursement Program funds to the removal, replacement, and disposal of covered communications equipment or services produced or provided by Huawei Technologies Company (Huawei) or ZTE Corporation (ZTE), including their subsidiaries and affiliates, that was obtained on or before June 30, 2020. See Protecting Against National Security Threats to the Communications Supply Chain Through FCC Programs, WC Docket No. 18-89, Third Report and Order, FCC 21-86 (rel. July 14, 2021) (Third Report and Order).