![ap_18345392188592](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/07/689469509_593722564.jpg)
Broadband is available to 86% of rural Colorado households, but many of the telecoms that provide the service use technology from a Huawei and ZTE, both of which are Chinese technology firms that have been banned by the federal government. The cost to rip-and-replace the tech nationwide could be a billion dollars, according to one estimate from CoBank. The Federal Communications Commission will vote Nov. 19 on a proposal to require all telecom companies using the banned tech to replace it. Tamara Chuang joins us to talk about the reporting she did for the Colorado Sun.