As cyber threats continue to grow worldwide, the origin of goods and materials becomes ever more important. This is particularly crucial in the telecommunications industry, where cyber-attacks or state-sponsored espionage can have devastating consequences.

For example, national security concerns prompted the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to pass the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, which explicitly bans the use of telecom equipment manufactured by certain Chinese companies. These concerns are so critical that the U.S. government is spending billions of dollars to replace legacy network equipment from China in existing networks.

However, the movement to regulate the country of origin for imported goods and materials dates back well before 2019. The Trade Agreements Act (TAA) was originally established in 1979 to bolster America’s involvement in the international trade market. This statute established certain rules to regulate the market, including a requirement of TAA compliance to qualify for Federal contracts administered by the General Services Administration (GSA).

What is TAA Compliance?

According to the TAA, all products listed on a GSA schedule or other government contract must be wholly manufactured or “substantially transformed” in either the U.S. or a TAA-designated country. In other words, those goods that are not made in America need to originate in specifically designated countries or be transformed into a ‘new and distinctly different’ article of commerce. Countries that are not TAA-compliant include China, India, Iran, Iraq, and Russia, among others.

Like the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, compliance with the Trade Agreements Act plays an important role in safeguarding the federal supply chain, and the U.S. government has made TAA compliance enforcement a priority. That’s why violating the TAA or making false claims can be a costly mistake, resulting in multimillion-dollar fines and exclusion from future federal contracts.

Made in America…?

The truth of the matter is that no distributed antenna system (DAS) equipment is wholly manufactured in the U.S. However, it still matters where in-building DAS components are produced. SOLiD is a global company headquartered in South Korea, and we are committed to delivering secure products that comply with statutory and regulatory requirements.

We manufacture all SOLiD ALLIANCE head-ends and edgeROU remote units in our South Korea facility, and we have the capability to manufacture our 2W, 5W, and 20W remotes in South Korea as well if needed. SOLiD has manufacturing facilities in South Korea (TAA designated) and Vietnam (non-TAA designated). Moreover, our Assembly, Configuration, and Test procedures (ACT) are implemented in the U.S. to provide industry-leading reliability and convenience, and achieve sustainability goals by reducing shipping and packaging waste.

At SOLiD, we are dedicated to offering innovative, reliable DAS solutions that comply with TAA requirements to meet the in-building mobile coverage needs of the world’s best-known and most challenging venues. To learn more about TAA-compliant DAS solutions or to discuss your project’s requirements, contact us: solid.com/us/contact.