U.S. senators across the aisle asked President Biden to budget for strengthening U.S. companies to compete with Chinese companies like Huawei in the 5G space.
Fifteen bipartisan senators, including Senator Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), vice chairman, sent a letter to President Biden on April 6 urging the president to include in his fiscal year 2022 budget to Congress a budget for the Public Wireless Supply Innovation Fund (PWSIF) established under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021. The letter urged the president to include in the fiscal year 2022 budget proposals for the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (PWSCIF) and the Multilateral Telecommunications Security Fund (MTSF) established under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021. “to encourage the adoption of Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) equipment and enable more vendors to enter the 5G market. compete with Chinese 5G manufacturers such as Huawei, which is heavily subsidized by the Chinese government.
The letter noted that the two funds provide an important foundation for a robust, secure and effective 5G network and are integral to the adoption of radio access network equipment by the U.S. and its allies to compete with equipment suppliers from strategic U.S. adversaries such as China.
The letter said, “The current radio access network (RAN) architecture relies on closed end-to-end software solutions that are expensive to operate and dominated by foreign companies. For example, Huawei, which has close ties to the Chinese government and has long disregarded the intellectual property of U.S. companies, provides end-to-end RAN equipment that raises significant counterintelligence concerns. We have asked U.S. communications providers with our allies and partner countries for years to reject Huawei’s 5G equipment, but we have failed to provide a competitively priced, innovative alternative to meet their needs.”
The letter said, “As wireless networks continue to adapt to the growing demand for 5G connectivity, an open wireless access network architecture would allow communications providers to depart from the current hardware-dominated approach and move into a software-centric model that relies heavily on cloud-based services. This architecture would break down the current proprietary cluster of end-to-end hardware; lower barriers to entry and immediate innovation; decentralize the supply chain and reduce reliance on overseas suppliers; and facilitate open wireless access network deployments across the U.S., especially in rural areas of the country. Requesting resources for these funds in your budget provides an opportunity to realize this vision.”
“We look forward to working with you in a bipartisan manner on this key national priority issue.”
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