Universal Service Support Should Be Invested in Middle Mile Infrastructure, ACS Says
A portion of money from universal service support should be invested in middle-mile infrastructure to be owned and operated by a neutral administrator, Alaska Communications Systems said an ex parte FCC filing posted Monday in docket 10-90. ACS responded to…
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a joint letter filed in the docket by the Alaska Telecommunications Association (ATA) and member company General Communication Inc. (GCI). With populations ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred, it would be "simply impossible" to deliver to some Alaskan communities services that are at an affordable and reasonable rate and that are comparable to the already existing ones in more densely populated areas of the state, ACS said. The proposal from ATA and GCI is, at best, incomplete, ACS said. To close the broadband gap in the Alaskan bush, the FCC needs to take "bolder action" than just preserving the status quo support flows to eligible telecom carriers, ACS said. Whatever approach the FCC takes needs to relieve the shortage of available, affordable middle-mile options that don't exist in the Alaskan bush today, ACS said.