House lawmakers have voted unanimously to clear a bipartisan bill that would allot $750M to support 5G technology deployment initiatives through a federal grant program under the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, The Hill reported Tuesday.
The USA Telecommunications Act calls for the formation of an advisory panel that will comprise of government and industry representatives to assist the government with 5G-related grants.
Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said the bill comes as part of a push to identify alternatives to Chinese telecom products and promote competition among domestic network equipment vendors.
“That makes it hard for new competitors to break into the market, and currently there are no American vendors for the network equipment that fuels our wireless economy,” said Pallone, who serves as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
He sponsored the bill with Reps. Greg Walden, R-Ore.; Doris Matsui, D-Calif.; and Brett Guthrie, R-Ky.
