U.S. to spend $1.5 billion to jumpstart alternatives to Huawei

The federal government plans to invest $1.5 billion to help spur a standards-based alternative for the gear at the heart of modern cellular networks. Experts say — and the government agrees — that there are economic and national security risks in having such equipment made only by a handful of companies overseas, with the most affordable products coming from China's Huawei. The most likely effort to benefit from the new funding is known as ORAN (Open Radio Access Network), which uses standard computing gear to replace what has been proprietary hardware from companies like Nokia, Ericsson, and Huawei. The federal government is kicking off the program with a public comment period, which will run through Jan. 23., 2022. Funding for the effort was provided by the Chips and Science Act.