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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
telecommunications infrastructure; equipment requirements
Purpose
Effective January 1, 2027, establishes the Secure Telecommunications Act of 2026 which prohibits, and requires the removal and replacement of, any critical telecommunications infrastructure that uses equipment manufactured by a foreign adversary, requires telecommunications providers to certify compliance and prescribes a civil penalty for noncompliance.
Background
The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) consists of five elected commissioners and is responsible for public utilities regulation, facilitating incorporation of businesses and organizations, granting or denying rate adjustments, enforcing safety and public service requirements and approving securities matters. Telecommunications providers, subject to the jurisdiction of the ACC, must be competitively neutral in relation to all telecommunications providers competing in Arizona (A.R.S. § 40-250).
Telecommunications are the transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received and does not include commercial mobile radio services, pay phone services, interstate services or cable services. Telecommunications service are the offering of telecommunications for a fee directly to the public, or to such users as to be effectively available directly to the public, regardless of the facilities used (A.R.S. § 9-581).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires critical telecommunications infrastructure that is located within or serves the State of Arizona to be constructed without including any equipment that is manufactured by a foreign adversary.
2. Specifies that a foreign adversary is defined as the People's Republic of China.
3. Stipulates that critical telecommunications infrastructure that is located within or serves the state must be constructed without having any equipment that is, including any equipment whose critical or necessary components are, manufactured in or by:
a) a foreign adversary, a state-owned enterprise of a foreign adversary;
b) a company that is domiciled within a foreign adversary or that is owned or where a foreign adversary is entitled to control the company by the corporation's governing documents; or
c) a foreign adversary state-owned enterprise or a foreign adversary-domiciled company.
4. Requires critical telecommunications infrastructure that operates within or serves the state, including critical telecommunications infrastructure that is not permanently disabled, to remove and replace all prohibited equipment with nonprohibited equipment.
5. Exempts a telecommunications provider that removes, discontinues or replaces any prohibited telecommunications equipment or service from being required to obtain any additional permit from any state agency or political subdivision of the state to remove, discontinue or replace the equipment or service, if:
a) the agency or political subdivision is properly notified of the necessary removal, discontinuation or replacement; and
b) any replacement telecommunications equipment is similar to the existing telecommunications equipment.
6. Requires, by January 1 of each year, each telecommunications provider to certify to the ACC that all critical telecommunications infrastructure and equipment within the provider's operation do not use or provide any prohibited telecommunications equipment or service.
7. Subjects a telecommunications provider to a civil penalty of at least $10,000 per day and no more than $100,000 per day of noncompliance for:
a) failing to submit the annual certification; or
b) knowingly submitting a false certification.
8. Bars a telecommunications provider that fails to annually certify compliance from receiving:
a) any state or local monies to develop or support new or existing critical telecommunications infrastructure; and
b) federal monies that are subject to distribution by state or local governments to develop or support new or existing critical telecommunications infrastructure.
9. Defines critical telecommunications infrastructure as all physical broadband infrastructure and equipment that:
a) supports the transmission of information of a user's choosing, regardless of the transmission medium or technology employed;
b) connects to a network that is owned by a publicly regulated utility and that allows the end user to engage in communications, including service provided directly to the public or to the classes of uses as to be effectively available directly to the public; and
c) contains at least one microchip.
10. Defines telecommunications provider as any public or private corporation that offers telecommunications services.
11. Defines telecommunications services and foreign adversary.
12. Designates this legislation as the Secure Telecommunications Act of 2026.
13. Contains a purpose statement.
14. Becomes effective on January 1, 2027.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 9, 2026
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