Sessions begin and the exhibit floor opens today at CCA’s Mobile Carriers Show in Tampa, FL. Tampa is a new location for the conference and pre-registration looks to be “one of the largest” since 2019, according to CCA President/CEO Steve Berry.
The $3.7 billion funding shortfall for the “Rip & Replace” reimbursement program is a big topic to be discussed at several events, Berry tells Inside Towers in an interview from Tampa. CCA members have been to Capitol Hill, explaining to lawmakers why more money is needed for smaller carriers to remove untrusted gear from Huawei and ZTE while keeping their networks operational at the same time.
“We have a lot of support,” Berry says, hoping the House and Senate quickly find a way to get more funding passed. However, “We’re getting close to an election year, and there’s only a few vehicles” that would work for funding of this size, he explains. Failure to receive the rest of the needed funds would mean some small carriers will need to leave the business, Berry fears.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel recently gave lawmakers several reasons for the shortfall, Inside Towers reported. The upshot is the existing funds would pay for about thirty percent of some smaller carriers’ expenses, according to Berry.
Many smaller carriers “have done a lot” already, to prepare for the effort, says Berry. Some spent their own money on such things as engineering studies to determine the wind-load that new antennas would have on their towers, he says. The effort to document the gear that may be reimbursable is so painstaking, the work is “going down to the serial numbers of everything on the tower.”
CCA members “are trying to run a network while trying to take down a network” at the same time, the CCA executive explains. Just as in the broadcast repack after the FCC auctioned part of the 600 MHz television spectrum, carriers are having to schedule tower work and justify the expense to the FCC for reimbursement. Now however, supply chain delays are adding to the complexity of the effort.
Eighty percent of small, rural carriers are also transitioning away from CDMA networks and towards building out 4G and 5G. “The issue is how do you monetize that investment?” Berry asks rhetorically. Panels on these topics include representatives from Inland Cellular, UScellular, Appalachian Wireless, Carolina West Wireless as well as T-Mobile and DISH. Manufacturers such as Nokia and Ericsson, which are involved in deploying 5G now, are represented at the show as well. Discussions will touch on network security and O-RAN too. “You normally don’t get carriers of all sizes together” in a panel, says Berry. “It will be interesting to see how they interact.”
CCA’s Mobile Carriers Show runs through tomorrow. Register here.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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