On March 12, 2020, President Trump signed into Law the H.R. 4998 the “Rip and Replace Bill”. The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 will:

• Prohibits the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from subsidizing the acquisition or maintenance of telecommunications equipment or services from untrusted suppliers.
• Create a program to reimburse telecommunications providers with fewer than two million customers. These providers will remove equipment from their networks that poses a national security risk to replace it with equipment from trusted suppliers.
• Establish an information sharing program for telecommunications providers, particularly small and rural operators, to obtain information regarding potential security risks and vulnerabilities to their networks.

Applicants will have to submit an initial reimbursement cost estimate at the time of their application. Filing Dates TBD.

Link to H.R. 4998: https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hr4998/BILLS-116hr4998eh.pdf