House Bill Seeks to Avoid Another ‘Rip-and-Replace’ with Foreign Fiber Ban
The bipartisan FIREWALL Act would restrict federal broadband funding to domestically sourced or allied fiber-optic cable.
WASHINGTON, July 2, 2026 – A bipartisan House bill introduced Tuesday would bar the use of federal broadband funds to purchase fiber-optic cable sourced from countries of concern.
Lawmakers argued the restriction would help prevent a future “Rip-and-Replace” effort similar to the federal reimbursement program launched in 2021 that removed Chinese-made telecommunications equipment from U.S. networks over national security concerns.
