Allied Wireless Gets $46 Million, as FCC Discloses Mobility Fund Auction Results
Over 83,000 new U.S. road miles in 31 states will get access to mobile Internet within 3 years, the FCC said Wednesday as it disclosed results of its Mobility Fund “Auction 901” to allocate $300 million toward closing gaps in mobile coverage. Carriers that received funding must complete projects within three years, and must make their networks available to other providers for roaming, the commission said. The Competitive Carriers Association praised the one-time “infusion” of support, but said the agency needs to make more funding available on an annual basis if it wants to achieve its universal service goals.
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FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the auction results would help the country maintain its global leadership in mobile innovation, as winners use the funds to cover the “dead zones in mobile Internet coverage” that are “too common."
Nearly $46 million went to Allied Wireless to cover more than 4,400 road miles. NE Colorado Cellular got $40 million for 12,000 road miles; U.S. Cellular $31 million for 1,700 miles; Union Telephone, Commnet of Nevada, Carolina West Wireless and T-Mobile West around $20 million each. The remaining $100 million was divvied between 26 carriers. According to the auction results map (http://xrl.us/bnshqt), Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico will see the greatest amount of new coverage.
The vast majority of successful bidders were small and rural service providers that “intimately know the challenges” of deploying mobile broadband in rural areas, said the Rural Telecommunications Group, with several members who made successful bids. RTG General Counsel Carri Bennet called the auction a “prime example” of how the commission can promote rural broadband while simultaneously promoting a competitive marketplace including small and rural service providers. She praised the commission’s decision to incorporate RTG’s suggestions of including more rural roads in its calculation of qualifying road miles, which she said allowed more service providers to participate in the auction. “The number of successful bidders from all across the country is proof positive that with the right regulatory mindset and helpful policy tools, all of America benefits from increased mobile broadband coverage and smaller, but stronger, marketplace competitors,” she said.
CCA President Steve Berry said he was “pleased” that so many of CCA’s members won funds, but “without assurance of continued support, the funds are insufficient.” Despite consumers’ “demonstrated preference for mobile wireless technology,” most of the Connect America Fund money has been set aside for ILECs, which “sharply limits” the funding available to wireless eligible telecom carriers, he said. “The $400 million in annual non-tribal support budgeted for Mobility Fund Phase II will be grossly inadequate to achieve the universal service goals established by Congress and the Commission,” he said by e-mail. CCA has proposed that the commission reallocate the $185 million unclaimed by price cap carriers in Phase I money to create comparable funding opportunities for wireless carriers.
Thirty-eight companies and subsidiaries submitted nearly 900 bids. Phase II of the Mobility Fund will see another $500 million annually for ongoing support to mobile services, an FCC spokesman said. The funding comes from savings realized after last year’s order allowing USF money to be spent for broadband and not only phone service, he said.