The country has set aside US $ 1.9 billion to exchange Hawaiian antennas

The U.S. government has formalized a repayment plan for operators who have switched equipment from Chinese manufacturers in the country, starting with small telecommunications companies operating in rural areas.

According to the news agency Reuters, The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repayment plan will cost $ 1.9 billion and will include phones primarily from Huawei and ZTE.

The two have been at loggerheads with the government for two years, accusing it of deliberately maintaining and spying on security breaches at the behest of the Chinese government. Restrictions on the handling of US brands and the use of local services, infrastructure devices for 5G and wireless connectivity equipment of these brands were banned in the country as these companies were considered potential risks to national security.

Leave the scene

The first step in this effort is the registration which will take place from October 29 this year to January 14, 2022. Qualified operators, who are small in structure and need help to hire and purchase equipment for the job, may have a maximum of 10 million customers.

In 2019, the study to create a refund fund in the case of antennas has already been discussed in the country, with two manufacturers and three smaller Chinese brands excluded from any planning involving North American telecommunications. Hawaii, in particular, has been widely used for 5G in domestic areas because it offers lower equipment prices and reduced maintenance costs.