RWA is delighted by the news that President Trump has signed into law the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 (H.R.4998).  The passage of H.R.4998 is the first-step in securing necessary funding to replace rural carriers’ Huawei and ZTE equipment so that critical network infrastructure in rural areas continues to be available to those living in and traveling to rural America.

RWA thanks the President and Congress for their valiant efforts in ensuring that Americans will be able to rely on these rural carrier networks while also protecting our national security.

Now we must push ahead in Congress to quickly appropriate the authorized funding. The timely appropriation of these reimbursement funds is critical for rural providers as the Federal Communications Commission is poised to ban the use of USF Funds to support rural carriers’ utilizing Huawei and ZTE equipment.  It is therefore imperative that Congress quickly appropriate funding for this legislation so that all rural carriers can begin replacing Huawei and ZTE equipment and services post haste.  RWA looks forward to continue working with the FCC to ensure a smooth migration of impacted customers to newer, secure networks.