The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) has released a Public Notice announcing the application filing window for the Secure and Trusted Communications Network’s Reimbursement Program (“Reimbursement Program”). The filing window will open Friday, October 29, 2021 at 12:00 AM ET and close on Friday, January 14, 2022 at 11:59 PM ET.

The Commission established the $1.9 billion Reimbursement Program to reimburse
providers of advanced communications services with ten million or fewer customers for costs incurred in the removal, replacement, and disposal of covered communications equipment or services from their networks that pose a national security risk. Support is limited to the communications equipment or services produced or provided by Huawei Technologies Company (Huawei) or ZTE Corporation (ZTE), that were obtained by providers on or before June 30, 2020.

To participate in the Reimbursement Program, eligible providers must file an FCC Form 5640 Application Request for Funding Allocation, using the Bureau’s dedicated online application filing portal, which will be made available on the Reimbursement Program webpage, https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain, when the application filing window opens.

Applicants with granted applications will receive a funding allocation commitment with the United States Treasury based on the approved cost estimates for removing, replacing, and disposing of eligible covered communications equipment and services. Once an allocation is issued, Reimbursement Program participants can then file to receive funding disbursements from their allocation for actual expenses incurred through the Reimbursement Program’s reimbursement claim request filing process.

If have any questions about or would like assistance with completing the reimbursement application, please contact Dee Herman ([email protected]) and Hilary Rosenthal ([email protected]).