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FCC rip and replace picks up pace The FCC's long-running "rip-and-place" program to remove Huawei and ZTE equipment from US telecom networks has made solid progress in recent months despite ongoing supply chain issues, according to the agency's latest report sent to Congress this week. The FCC said that 53 of the program's 126 funded projects (42%) have "permanently removed, replaced and disposed of" equipment and services that the carriers had in their networks from the Chinese vendors, as first reported by Broadband Breakfast. That is up from just 13 out of 126 (10%) since the FCC's last report in December 2025. Further, 12 carriers met all the requirements to complete their par cipa on in the program, and 22 started the closeout process. The report shows a steep ramp in the number of projects completed, which might not have been expected given the number of operators that were struggling to meet the program's May 8 deadline. About 30 operators applied for and were granted extensions. The rip-and-replace program was established through the 2019 Secure and Trusted Communica ons Networks Act. The FCC oversees the reimbursement of small carriers for ripping out and replacing equipment provided by Huawei and ZTE, which are on the FCC's "Covered List" of gear that the federal government deems to pose na onal security risks. The program has been beset by delays, cost overruns and funding shor alls. While the latest report shows faster progress, the policy that was enacted seven years ago is not even half finished. Congress allocated $1.9 billion to the program in 2021. A er funding requests from carriers came in at around $4.9 billion, a further $3 billion was found in 2024. The FCC borrowed the addi onal $3 billion in March 2025 with the understanding that it would be repaid by proceeds from the ongoing AWS-3 spectrum auc on. The auc on has so far raised $3.4 billion. Challenges persist for rip and replace The FCC's report also addresses some of the ongoing issues carriers are having that make it more difficult to remove the equipment on schedule. More operators cited supply chain delays as a chief problem, with about 35% of program par cipants saying it was harder to get replacement equipment, up from 17% in the December 2025 report. Other growing problems are labor shortages and delays because of weather and permi ng. Lack of skilled labor was cited by 15% of carriers, up from 9% six months ago. Meanwhile, 15% of operators reported weather challenges that affected work, which is an increase from 4% six months ago, and 11% said delays in obtaining permits were impeding project progress. Alok Shah, vice president of network strategy at Samsung Networks, talked to Light Reading about some of the challenges carriers are facing in the program. Most recently, they have been affected by supply chain issues driven by ac vity outside the program. "This program is up against large-scale telecom programs that are either involving mobile network replacements or fiber build outs. … On top of that, there are AI data center build outs that are fast and furious," said Shah. There is surprising overlap for components in demand for telco and data center deployments, he explained, such as power supplies and basic "nuts and bolts" items like lugs, connectors and cables. Supply chain reac on The supply chain constraints then have a knock-on effect on project workflow because it affects the schedule for different teams needing access to a site. "When we have a supply chain disrup on and we don't have all of the equipment we need to deploy a site, that means we either have to postpone the site, which then affects everybody else's schedule, or we do a par al build out, and we have to go back to the site. All those things add more me," Shah explained. The schedule disrup on also has an impact on labor supply because it takes me and planning to get tower engineers on site. "So you start to see this kind of domino effect as it relates to schedule and being able to get sites done," said Shah. "And then on top of that, you have weather effects. ... We've certainly seen more extreme weather recently than in past decades." Early on, the main issue was lack of funding. But now, "the funding is in place," said Shah. "The operators and the vendors that support them are very mo vated to get this program done," he added. "Everybody wants to get untrusted equipment off the towers, off the sites and get it replaced." Ar cle Credit: h ps://www.lightreading.com/regulatory-poli cs/fcc- rip-and-replace-picks-up-pace Talleycom.com You Connect the World. We Make it Easy. ® 12 SHEET® QUARTER 2 2026

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