US set to belatedly approve an additional $3 billion for rip-and-replace programme

Known formally as the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, and colloquially as the rip-and-replace programme, this US government initiative is designed to compensate any US telcos that still have Chinese-made kit in their networks for the cost of replacing it. It was first signed into law four years ago but it soon became clear that the $1.9 billion of public money on offer was way short of the mark.

For years, FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel has been patiently writing to any politician she can think of, saying the rip-and-replace scheme needs at least an extra $3 billion if they want it to succeed in eliminating all trace of vendors such as Huawei and ZTE from US networks. She had another go in May of this year and yet again a few weeks ago, prompting the US Competitive Carriers Association to echo her plea.

Now, it seems, they’re set to get their extra $3 billion of taxpayer cash, thanks to a last-minute amendment to the massive US annual military budget. In the context of a total budget of $850 billion, what difference does an extra three here or there make? House Speaker Mike Johnson didn’t even think it was worth a mention in his statements accompanying the 2025 defense budget legislation. Here’s a screenshot of the relevant part of the bill, illustrating how casually billions of dollars are chucked about by the US government.

“This year's Annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) ensures our men and women in uniform have the resources and support they need to defend our great nation,” opened Johnson. "The NDAA refocuses our military on its core mission of defending America and its interests around the globe by supporting law enforcement operations and the deployment of the National Guard to the southwest border, expediting innovation and reducing the acquisition timeline for new weaponry, supporting our allies, and strengthening our nuclear posture and missile defense programs.”

That bit about ‘defending America and its interests around the globe’ is the most pernicious as it massively expands the concept of ‘national defense’. America’s near obsession with China over the past four years makes the delay in properly funding the rip-and-replace programme even more baffling but they got there eventually. Maybe it took a major event like the Salt Typhoon attack to focus their attention.