FCC boss urges speedy spectrum auction to fund 'Rip'n'Replace' of Chinese kit

The outgoing boss of the FCC, Jessica Rosenworcel, has called on her colleagues to "quickly" adopt rules allowing the US regulator to stage a radio spectrum auction, the proceeds of which would fund the removal from American networks of equipment made by Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE.

Work to tear out the kit and replace it with less risky equipment has been under way since 2021, when $1.9 billion was allocated to a “Rip and Replace” program that Congress authorized on grounds Chinese-made devices posed a national security risk. In 2024 it emerged the program saw just 12 percent of telcos and ISPs completely remove Chinese gear from their networks, and that at least another $3 billion is needed to finish the job.

Rosenworcel argued tirelessly for more funding, urging Congress to find more cash.

The ongoing Typhoon cyberattacks, during which various Chinese-government-linked spies broke into critical computer networks for espionage and potentially destructive purposes, gave impetus to Rosenworcel's arguments, which bore fruit last December when Congress passed the Spectrum and Secure Technology and Innovation Act that allowed the FCC to borrow up to $3.08 billion from the Treasury to fully fund the Rip and Replace program.

To repay that loan, the FCC plans to auction rights to use unassigned Advanced Wireless Services (AWS-3) spectrum – mid-range radio bands that are highly valuable to mobile operators because it allows them to provide customers with fast data speeds and good coverage. Spectrum auctions, which offer bidders the right to use certain radio frequencies, are an established process around the world.

America's last AWS-3 auction took place in in 2015, when AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile US, and others spent nearly $45 billion for the rights to use slices of the airwaves.

"With Salt Typhoon and other recent incidents, we are all acutely aware of the risk posed by Chinese hackers and intelligence services to our privacy, economy, and security," reads a quote from Rosenworcel in a statement [PDF]. "Today's proposal is a critical step toward finally filling the shortfall in the Rip and Replace program."

Or is it? Telcos who win the auction would pay Washington, which would then use the proceeds to pay off the loan it issued to the FCC - meaning private enterprise, not the government, would be the source for the additional funds.

The proposed new rules will update bidding arrangements to allow auctions of unassigned AWS-3 spectrum bands.

Those frequencies are 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, and 2155-2180 MHz

As she prepared to vacate her post, Rosenworcel has also proposed rules that would force telecom operators to do a better job securing their networks following the Salt Typhoon intrusions.

These efforts also come as the federal government reportedly mulls banning the sale of TP-Link routers in the US over ongoing national security concerns about Chinese-made devices being used in cyberattacks.

Rosenworcel will leave the FCC on January 20, the same day President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office. Trump has picked current commissioner Brendan Carr as her replacement. ®