FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will put...
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will put the question of whether dark fiber should be supported by E-Rate funding on the Sept. 23 meeting agenda, aides to two commissioners said. Industry opposes such measures, saying it’s a violation of Sections 254(c)(3)…
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and 254(h) of the Communications Act. USTelecom and AT&T have had separate meetings with FCC staff in recent days to voice their opposition, ex parte filings said. “AT&T explained that the statutory language does not support making dark fiber eligible for E-rate funding,” its Tuesday filing said. If the agency does order dark fiber to be covered by e-rates, AT&T suggested the commission “should do so in a manner that furthers the national policy goal of increasing broadband deployment in un-served areas,” the filing said. USTelecom said a shift will be “enormously expensive” and raises the specter of competitive bidding violations.