Washington Post

Huawei helped bring Internet to small-town America. Now its equipment has to go.

About a dozen small rural carriers have purchased gear over the years from Huawei or ZTE, Chinese companies that have raised security concerns, according to their trade group, the Rural Wireless Association. The carriers often bought the equipment with US government subsidies intended to help bring Internet service to sparsely populated areas that larger telecom companies deemed unprofitable. Replacing the gear would cost roughly $1 billion, the association says, and Pine Telephone Company in Oklahoma and other small companies are calling for federal funding to help.