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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 13, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
Commission believes it is more prudent to maintain control of the Replacement List. Second, although the Commission recognizes the challenges inherent in creating the Replacement List, the Secure Networks Act is clear that the Commission shall develop the Replacement List. Outsourcing the task to a third-party trade association or similar organization could be an unlawful subdelegation and risk the appearance of abdicating the Commissions responsibility.
191. Maintenance of the List. The Commission agrees with commenters that the list of suggested equipment and service should be transparent and current. The Commission will update the list of suggested equipment and services, and program recipients and interested third parties may also provide information about suggested equipment and services to assist the Commission in keeping the list current and reflective of changes in the market. The Commission finds that the list should be updated at least annually to ensure that it stays current with new technologies and innovations while also providing access to evolving next-generation communications capabilities to all consumers. Updating the Replacement List annually is consistent with the minimum schedule that Congress set for the Commission to update the list of covered communications equipment and services. The Commission believes updating its list of equipment and services that pose a threat to national security risks and its Replacement Lists together will provide consistency and clarity for providers seeking to comply with the Commissions rules.
192. The Commission declines to update the list quarterly, as some commenters argue. By adopting a Replacement List featuring categories of equipment and services, the Commission is expressly declining to attempt to evaluate every piece of equipment or software released. The Commission finds that the relevant categories of equipment and services are unlikely to change quarterly, and that an annual review is sufficient to keep the list current and foster a competitive marketplace. An annual update will be much more comprehensive and avoid the need for providers to constantly check the Commissions website prior to investing in their networks. For these same reasons, the Commission declines to update the list at even shorter intervals, such as monthly. The Commission does, however, note that the list may be updated at a shorter interval if the Commission deems it necessary.

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193. The Commission directs WCB to issue a Public Notice at least annually announcing the updates to the Replacement List.
194. In the 2019 Supply Chain Order, the Commission sought to understand the scope of potentially prohibited equipment or services in the communications supply chain to help inform its rulemaking. As a result, it adopted the 2019 Supply Chain Information Collection Order, which required ETCs, and their non-ETC
affiliates and subsidiaries, to report on the existence, or lack thereof, of any of their equipment and services obtained from Huawei and ZTE. ETCs had to submit information on the type of equipment or service obtained from these covered companies; the cost to purchase and/or install such equipment and services; and the cost to remove and replace such equipment and services.
All submissions were required to be certified. OEA and WCB collected and compiled this data, and the results were published in September 2020.
195. Section 5 of the Secure Networks Act requires that providers of advanced communications service report annually if they have purchased, rented, leased, or otherwise obtained any covered communications equipment or service, on or after August 14, 2018 or 60 days after an equipment or service has been placed on the Covered List. In other words, any equipment or service on the Covered List based on one of these two specifications must be reported. Section 5 also requires that providers of advanced communications service who have indicated in the information collection that their network contains covered equipment or services, based on the specifications in this document, submit a detailed justification for obtaining such equipment or services, as well as information indicating whether the covered equipment or services has subsequently been removed and replaced and information about plans to continue the purchase, rent, lease, installation, or use of such covered equipment or services. Any providers that certify to the Commission that they do not have any equipment or services are not required to submit annual reports unless they acquire covered equipment or services after their last certification.
196. In the 2020 Supply Chain Second Further Notice, the Commission proposed to require that advanced communications service providers report the type, location, date obtained, and any removal and replacement plans of covered equipment and services in their networks. The Commission also
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sought comment on the appropriate information needed to satisfy the detailed justification requirement of the Secure Networks Act.
197. Consistent with the Secure Networks Act and the Commissions proposal in the 2020 Supply Chain Second Further Notice, the Commission implements a new data collection requirement applying to all providers of advanced communications service. The Commission requires that providers of advanced communications service annually report on covered communications equipment or services in their networks. Specifically, with respect to equipment or services on the initial Covered List acquired on or after August 14, 2018, or equipment or services added to the Covered List that were purchased 60 days or more after the Covered List is subsequently updated, providers must report the type of covered communications equipment or service purchased, rented or leased;
location of the equipment or service;
date the equipment or service was procured; removal or replacement plans for the equipment or service, including cost to replace; amount paid for the equipment or service; the supplier for the equipment or service; and a detailed justification for obtaining such covered equipment and service.
198. The detailed justification must thoroughly explain the providers reasons for obtaining the covered equipment and/or services, including why the provider chose to obtain covered equipment and services rather than equipment and services not on the Covered List. These reasons can include technical or compatibility issues or the source of the vendor was not known by the provider. Providers must also indicate whether the equipment and services were published on the Covered List at the time of purchase, and whether the covered equipment and services supports any other covered equipment and services that do not need to be reported, because, for example, the equipment or services were obtained before August 14, 2018. This information is not only required pursuant to the Secure Networks Act but will inform future Commission action to address security issues in communications networks.
199. The Commission will release to the public a list of providers that have reported covered equipment or services in their networks, consistent with the 2019 Supply Chain Information Collection Order. The Commission believes that the public interest in knowing whether providers have covered equipment and services in their networks outweighs any interest the
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