Rip-and-Replace Deadlines Delayed for 2 More Providers

The FCC Tuesday granted two more participants in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program six-month extensions of their mandate to rip and replace Huawei and ZTE equipment from their networks. Triangle Telephone Cooperative Association’s deadline to remove the gear was delayed from Wednesday to May 29, Triangle Communication System’s deadline from Jan. 13 to July 13, according to a Wireline Bureau order. “Petitioners claim that supply chain disruptions, attributable in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, have increased lead times for equipment delivery well beyond what would otherwise be Normal,” the bureau said in docket 18-89: The providers explain “that these issues have been exacerbated by a lack of available employees and qualified contractors due, in part, to the effects of the pandemic.”