U.S. to Spend $1.5B on Domestic Cell Network Gear Production

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The federal government plans to invest $1.5 billion to help spur a standards-based alternative for the gear at the heart of modern cellular networks. The NTIA confirmed the money will go toward domestic alternatives to current wireless network equipment. That could help telecoms faced with replacing network equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE that the U.S. has deemed to be a threat to national security. The NTIA will launch the Innovation Fund program, NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson confirmed on Twitter, according to Broadband Breakfast. The funds will come from the Chips and Science Act, the $280 billion legislation meant to fund U.S.-based chip research and manufacturing. "The highly consolidated global market for wireless equipment creates serious risks for both consumers and U.S. companies,” Davidson told Axios. Continue Reading