The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the U.S. telecoms regulator, told Congress on Friday that it needed an additional $3 billion to subsidize telecom operators for removing equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE from U.S. networks, Reuters reported. The total cost of the entire “rip and replace” program came to $4.9 billion.

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel wrote in a letter Friday to Senator Maria Cantwell, head of the U.S. Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee: “To fund all reasonable and (project) supported costs, the reimbursement program will require $4.98 billion, and the current funding gap is $3.08 billion.”

She added that because Congress allocated only $1.9 billion to fund the removal of the equipment, the companies involved were only able to reimburse about 40 percent of the cost.

In 2019, the U.S. Congress passed a law requiring the FCC to force U.S. telecommunications carriers receiving federal subsidies to remove telecommunications equipment that poses a national security threat, and promised to reimburse them.

The FCC listed Huawei and ZTE as threats to force U.S. companies to dismantle their equipment or lose access to $8.3 billion in government funds to buy new equipment. However, Congress allocated just $1.9 billion to fund the so-called “remove and replace” program, raising questions about how effectively the program can be implemented.

“In the absence of additional funding, the committee will use the prioritization plan designated by Congress,” Jessica Rosenworcel wrote in the letter, adding that the FCC will begin processing reimbursement requests “as funding is released in the coming days”.

Relevant telecommunications companies will only be required to complete the replacement of equipment after receiving compensation.