From Inside Towers Intelligence: “Rip & Replace” Is Easier Said Than Done

 

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

Telecom equipment manufacturers and wireless service providers (WSPs) want the FCC’s “Rip & Replace” program to begin. At the same time, they are requesting that the reimbursement process be settled as soon as possible. The program is meant to compensate smaller carriers for removing so-called untrusted gear from their networks. Public comments were due in late April on the initial “Supply Chain Reimbursement Program Report,” a catalog of eligible expenses and estimated costs with a list of categories of suggested replacement equipment and services. The report was produced for the FCC by Widelity, the same company that developed a replacement cost catalog for the television repack expense reimbursement program. The nearly $2 billion Rip & Replace program is intended for WSPs with 10 million or fewer subscribers. Widelity focused on the removal, replacement, and disposal of communications equipment and services produced or provided by Chinese manufacturers, Huawei and ZTE... The full version of this article can be found in Inside Towers’ Intelligence, a new, quarterly market report and subscription service that deep dives into the wireless infrastructure ecosystem. For details, click here.