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The FCC’s Rip-and-Replace program is still helping eligible providers remove Huawei and ZTE equipment from U.S. communications networks, but the May 8, 2026 deadline did not mean the work was finished. In its June 15 report, the FCC said 53 of 126 Priority 1 applications had filed final certifications and 12 had completed program closeout. Many remaining recipients received limited extensions.
What the FCC’s Rip-and-Replace program does
The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, commonly called Rip-and-Replace, reimburses eligible providers for reasonable costs to remove, replace, and dispose of covered Huawei and ZTE communications equipment or services. It is an infrastructure transition for participating providers—not a recall of consumer phones, routers, or other products. The FCC describes the program and its requirements on its Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program page.
Congress appropriated $1.9 billion for the program in 2021. The FCC said in January 2025 that applications exceeded available funding; that appropriation and statement do not establish the program’s eventual total costs or whether all costs were covered. On January 6, 2025, then-FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel proposed rules to begin an AWS-3 spectrum auction with the stated aim of helping close the funding gap. The proposal itself is not evidence of how much funding was ultimately raised. (FCC announcement, January 6, 2025.)
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Not all had finished the process by the time of the FCC’s latest detailed status report in this material, published June 15, 2026. Most Priority 1 recipients had a May 8, 2026 term deadline to remove, replace, and dispose of covered equipment. The FCC said it granted limited extensions to many recipients who remained, where they demonstrated that circumstances beyond their control prevented timely completion. An extension changes the deadline for an eligible recipient; it does not mean that recipient has completed the project. (FCC Eighth Report, June 15, 2026.)
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| Stage reported by the FCC | Applications | What the figure means |
|---|---|---|
| Final certifications filed | 53 of 126 Priority 1 applications | The FCC reported that these applications had filed final certifications as of June 15, 2026; this is not the same as completed closeout. |
| Closeout initiated | 22 applications | These had begun the closeout process as of the report date. |
| Closeout completed | 12 applications | The FCC reported these applications as having completed closeout as of June 15, 2026. |
These are application counts at the report date, not a current final tally of providers or projects. A filed certification and a completed closeout are distinct steps, and the figures should not be added together as though they were mutually exclusive groups.
Why removing network equipment takes time
Finding every covered device
Providers must determine what covered equipment or services are present before they can plan replacement and document completion. That discovery problem is difficult even for government networks. In a May 19, 2026 review of six selected federal agencies—not a direct audit of every FCC reimbursement recipient—the U.S. Government Accountability Office found agencies used hardware inventories, network scans, procurement records, and physical searches to identify covered equipment. GAO noted scans might miss systems, including classified networks, and that limited supply-chain visibility and stale or incomplete affiliate records complicated identification. (GAO report, May 19, 2026.)
Supply, labor, weather, and funding constraints
The FCC’s June 2026 report described earlier obstacles including the initial funding shortfall, supply-chain delays, labor shortages, and weather-related issues. The report does not establish a relative contribution for each barrier. These practical constraints help explain why a deadline does not instantly produce a finished transition: equipment must be identified, replacement gear sourced and installed, and the old equipment removed and disposed of.
What counts as completion
Removing equipment is only part of the process. Recipients must complete the permanent removal, replacement, and disposal work, support reimbursement claims with records, and proceed through program closeout. In a March 17, 2026 advisory, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau and Wireline Competition Bureau reminded recipients to meet their deadlines, substantiate project-management claims, retain disposal records, and cooperate with audits and investigations. (FCC compliance advisory, March 17, 2026.)
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The FCC also emphasized the statutory basis for extensions: a recipient must show that, through no fault of its own, it cannot complete permanent removal, replacement, and disposal by the end of its term. An extension is therefore a limited exception, not a blanket reset of the program deadline.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the status figures do—and do not—show
The June 2026 report establishes that substantial closeout work remained at that point, but it does not establish the program’s final completion rate, final expenditure, or the status of every recipient on October 4, 2026. No later detailed status tally is established here, so the June figures should be treated as a dated snapshot rather than today’s final outcome.
Separate federal supply-chain findings should not be mistaken for FCC grant-program progress. A September 22, 2026 GAO report on Section 889 procurement compliance found that nearly 90 percent of companies with active federal contracts in fiscal year 2025 publicly represented that they did not use equipment from five covered companies, based on information GAO gathered as of March 2026. GAO recommended that the General Services Administration and Department of Defense share affiliate and compliance information with other agencies. This concerns federal procurement representations, not completion of the FCC’s Huawei and ZTE replacement program. (GAO report, September 22, 2026.)
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