H.R. 4506 — Securing Global Telecommunications Act

This section states the sense of Congress that (1) the United States should promote American leadership in strategic technology industries, including telecommunications infrastructure and other information and communications technologies; (2) the presence of Chinese Communist Party-linked companies such as Huawei in global mobile networks poses national security risks, including data exfiltration and internet shutdowns, underscoring the need for the United States to remain at the technological frontier; (3) countering Huawei's market dominance highlights the urgency of supporting U.S. competitiveness in next-generation information and communications technology; (4) the United States must collaborate with emerging economies and developing nations to lead the International Telecommunication Union, preserve its technical integrity, bolster global telecommunications security, and protect U.S. national security interests; and (5) multilateral cooperation with allies is essential to finance and promote secure networks worldwide and achieve market leadership for trusted vendors.

This section requires the Secretary of State, not later than 90 days after enactment, to develop and submit to the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and Commerce, Science, and Transportation a strategy—known as the “Strategy to Secure Global Telecommunications Infrastructure”—to promote secure telecommunications infrastructure in foreign countries. The Secretary of State must consult with the President of the Export-Import Bank, CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, USAID Administrator, Director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, FCC Chair, and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information in developing the strategy. The strategy must include sections on (1) mobile networks, describing efforts to promote trusted Open RAN technologies, finance rip-and-replace projects, bolster multilateral cooperation with developing countries, and collaborate with trusted private sector companies to counter Chinese market leadership; (2) data centers, describing efforts to use financing mechanisms and multilateral cooperation with developing countries to promote trusted providers; (3) sixth-generation (6G) and future technologies, describing efforts to deepen cooperation with like-minded countries for U.S. and allied market leadership and increase buy-in from developing countries; and (4) low-Earth orbit satellites, aerostats, and stratospheric balloons, describing efforts to work with trusted private sector companies to provide rapid internet connectivity in emergencies.

This section directs the Secretary of State, not later than 90 days after enactment, to submit to the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and Commerce, Science, and Transportation a report on Russian and Chinese strategies and efforts (1) to expand the mandate of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)—a UN specialized agency for international telecommunications standards and radio frequency coordination—to cover internet governance policy and (2) to advance actions favorable to authoritarian interests or hostile to fair, industry-led processes. The report must also identify China and Russia's efforts to increase ITU jurisdiction over internet governance and propose related standards; leverage private sector actors (e.g., using market power for favorable ITU election decisions and Huawei's dominance in developing countries to influence standards, elections, and candidate selection); and use the influence of their ITU personnel to advance CCP and Kremlin interests. The report must be unclassified but may include a classified annex.

This section directs the Secretary of State, in coordination with the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, and the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, to submit to the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and Commerce, Science, and Transportation, not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, a report that identifies opportunities for greater collaboration with allies and partners to promote secure information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure in countries other than the United States, including through (1) joint financing efforts to help trusted vendors win bids to build out ICT infrastructure; (2) incorporating ICT focuses into allies’ and partners’ international development finance initiatives; and (3) diplomatic coordination to emphasize the importance of secure telecommunications infrastructure to countries using untrusted providers.