Secure Equipment Act Signed into Law, Broadband Tax Exemption Legislation Reintroduced in Michigan
Secure Equipment Act Signed into Law
In 2020, the FCC adopted new rules that required U.S. telecommunications carriers rip and replace equipment provided by “covered” companies. The rules, however, only applied to equipment purchased with federal funding; the same equipment could still be used if purchased with private or non-federal government dollars. To close this loophole, Representatives Eshoo and Scalise, together with Senators Markey and Rubio, introduced the Secure Equipment Act to prevent identified security threats from having a presence in U.S. telecommunications networks. President Biden signed the Secure Equipment Act into law on Friday. “The Secure Equipment Act of 2021 will improve our safety as a nation by ensuring that untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorized for use within our borders. Senators Markey and Rubio, and Representatives Eshoo and Scalise’s continued dedication to this issue mirrors our efforts to update the Federal Communications Commission’s equipment authorization procedures,” said Jessica Rosenworcel, FCC Chairwoman. “I thank Senators Markey and Rubio and Representative Eshoo and Scalise for their leadership and for helping send a strong, bipartisan signal that the United States is serious about developing a robust market for secure 5G alternatives.”
Broadband Tax Exemption Legislation Reintroduced in Michigan
Michigan Senator Aric Nesbitt (R.) is again sponsoring a bill that would provide a tax exemption for the installation of broadband equipment in the state. Like previous measures, SB 0730 would exempt eligible broadband equipment from personal property taxes in areas that that are unserved or underserved. Similar bills were vetoed last year by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D.), asserting the proposals were too costly and wouldn’t yield the necessary results. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Technology.
The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.