FCC www.fcc.gov Chairman Ajit Pai recently appeared before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to discuss closing the digital divide along with other areas of concern. He told the Committee, “We need to more wisely apply federal funds under the Universal Service Fund www.fcc.gov/general/universal-service programs that the FCC administers.
Secondly, the FCC should revise regulations that deter the private sector from investing in next-generation networks. The Commission should also aid state, local governments, and the private sector by creating deployment-friendly best practices.
In order to provide adequate wireless services, the FCC is planning to bring 4GLTE service to millions of rural Americans living without wireless today. He said, “In ten years, the FCC will spend over $4.5 billion to bring mobile broadband to unserved areas.”
On February 23, 2017, the FCC adopted several orders to spur the buildout of mobile and fixed broadband networks in rural America. One order involves the Mobility Fund Phase II www.fcc.gov/mobility-fund-phase2 in place to ensure that all Americans have access to advanced wireless services.
The Connect America Fund www.fcc.gov/general/connect-america-fund-caf is providing $2 billion for fixed broadband being developed in unserved rural areas by using a competitive reverse auction.
Under Chairman’s Pai’s leadership, a partnership with New York State to combine up to $170 million in federal Universal Service Funds along with state funds to deploy broadband in unserved areas in upstate New York.
In addition to funding broadband initiatives especially in rural areas, the FCC could also lower the cost of deployment through regulatory reform. As the Chairman explained, “The FCC has taken an initial step to clear regulatory burdens, since the agency has ended the requirement that requires price cap carriers to maintain a separate set of accounting books merely for regulatory purposes. As it turns out, the carriers were spending millions each year to maintain these accounts but the FCC has never needed to rely on the data generated.”
In another action, the FCC is in the process of creating the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC) www.fcc.gov/broadband-deploment-advisory-committee to focus on the best ways to promote broadband deployment. Over 380 individuals have applied to take part in BDAC and the FCC is currently in the process or selecting the members and setting up the committee.