Whether you’re in the “Paranoia, the destroyer” camp with the Kinks, or take Joseph Heller’s words from Catch-22 “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you,” to heart, who doesn’t love a good proxy war!?

Huawei is a leader in 5G. Its products and services are second-to-none in the space, but doubts about its intentions are begging the question if there’s fire to go along with the smoke. Growing concerns about Huawei led governments around the globe to block telecom companies from leveraging the Chinese firm’s 5G technology in mobile networks. It wasn’t just Huawei, ZTE earned similar status.

President Trump signed The Secure and Trusted Telecommunications Networks Act in March of 2020, cementing the “rip and replace” bill, and setting large-scale overhaul in motion. Firstly, United States companies were banned from using any of an $8.3 billion government fund to purchase equipment from either provider. Secondly, the bill promises funding for those smaller, rural telecoms in need of assistance.

By July 2021, the FCC finalized a program to subsidize costs for small telecom firms, and this week took another major step by announcing applications for assistance will open October 29. The program provides nearly $2 billion in support.  

American companies look to 5G to enhance operations from top-to-bottom, sales to the c-suite; it is fertile ground for the next generation technology. It seems, a few companies will be on the outside looking in.

Trust is earned.