[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76185-76186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-26939]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration


Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund Listening Session

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of open meeting.

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SUMMARY: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA) will convene a virtual industry roundtable listening session on 
the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund. The listening session 
is designed to collect stakeholder input to help inform the development 
and administration of the Innovation Fund grant program.

DATES: The listening session will be held on January 24, 2023, from 
10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.

ADDRESSES: The session will be held virtually, with online slide share 
and dial-in information to be posted at https://www.ntia.gov/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please direct questions regarding this 
Notice to [email protected], indicating ``Innovation Fund 
Listening Session'' in the subject line, or if by mail, addressed to 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 
20230; telephone: 202-482-3806. Please direct media inquiries to Sarah 
Skaluba, (202) 482-7002, or NTIA's Office of Public Affairs, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background and Authority: On August 9, 2022, President Biden signed 
the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 into law, appropriating $1.5 billion 
for the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (referred to 
subsequently herein as the ``Innovation Fund''), to support the 
promotion and deployment of open, interoperable, and standards-based 
radio access networks (RAN) (Pub. L. 117-167, Div. A, Sect. 106, 136 
Stat. 1392). The Innovation Fund is authorized under section 9202(a)(1) 
of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act 
for Fiscal Year 2021 (Pub. L. 116-283; 47 U.S.C. 906(a)(1)). This 
historic investment aims to support U.S. leadership in the global 
telecommunications ecosystem, foster competition, lower costs for 
consumers and network operators, and strengthen our supply chain.
    Today's fifth generation wireless technology (known as ``5G'') 
infrastructure market is highly consolidated, with a small group of 
vendors making up the majority of the marketplace. This lack of 
competition can reduce supply chain resilience and security, contribute 
to higher prices, and make it challenging for new, innovative U.S. 
companies to break into the market.

[[Page 76186]]

Additionally, certain equipment and services produced or provided by 
particular vendors in this marketplace have been deemed to pose an 
unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.\1\ 
Some of these vendors, including Chinese telecommunications companies 
Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation have been shown to have 
links to the Chinese government and/or the Chinese Communist Party, 
giving rise to security risks.\2\ Those risks are compounded by 
financial support from the government of China and preferential access 
to the Chinese market, which enable them to offer lower cost financing 
terms and, in some cases, below-market export credit subsidies to 
foreign mobile operators to purchase their equipment. The United States 
Government is working to mobilize the full range of department and 
agency tools and coordinating with like-minded partners to support 
foreign mobile network operators in procuring trusted, secure RAN.
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    \1\ See the Federal Communications Commission's List of 
Equipment and Services Covered by Section 2 of The Secure Networks 
Act, https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist.
    \2\ See, e.g., Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. 
House of Representatives, Investigative Report on the U.S. National 
Security Issues Posed by Chinese Telecommunications Companies Huawei 
and ZTE at iv (Oct. 8, 2012), https://republicans-intelligence.house.gov/sites/intelligence.house.gov/files/documents/huaweizte%20investigative%20report%20(final).pdf.
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    To help inform development and administration of the Innovation 
Fund grant program, NTIA has established multiple avenues for the 
public to offer input, including through a Request for Comment also 
published today as well as this public virtual listening session. NTIA 
seeks input from all interested stakeholders--including private 
industry, academia, civil society, and other experts. The discussions 
held at this session will be analyzed to help inform, among other 
items: the kinds of grant criteria NTIA should consider, 
recommendations on the types of projects and programs the Innovation 
Fund should aim to support, and practical solutions to the chief 
challenges of open, interoperable, and standards-based RAN adoption.
    Time and Date: NTIA will convene the public listening session on 
January 24, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The 
exact time of the meeting is subject to change. Please refer to NTIA's 
website, https://www.ntia.gov, for the most current information.
    Place: The meeting will be held virtually, with online slide share 
and dial-in information to be posted at https://www.ntia.gov. Please 
refer to NTIA's website, https://www.ntia.gov, for the most current 
information.
    Other Information: The meeting is open to the public and the press 
on a first-come, first-served basis. The virtual meeting is accessible 
to people with disabilities. Individuals requiring accommodations such 
as real-time captioning, sign language interpretation or other 
ancillary aids should notify the Department at [email protected] 
at least seven (7) business days prior to the meeting. Access details 
for the meeting are subject to change. Please refer to NTIA's website, 
https://www.ntia.gov, for the most current information.

    Dated: December 7, 2022.
Josephine Arnold,
Senior Attorney-Advisor.
[FR Doc. 2022-26939 Filed 12-12-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-P