New York Asks FCC To Keep CAF II Funds in States Where Telcos Declined Support
New York state officials urged the FCC to ensure a Connect America Fund auction keeps broadband subsidies allocated to the states where they were declined by price-cap telcos. They said they are concerned the $28.4 million in CAF Phase II…
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funds for New York could be redistributed to other states. "These funds are critical for the deployment of broadband services in the New York communities affected by Verizon's 2015 decision to decline Phase II model-based funding," said Howard Zemsky, CEO of Empire State Development (ESD), and Audrey Zibelman, chairwoman of the state Public Service Commission, in a letter posted Thursday in docket 10-90. The ESD is managing a state broadband program that will include an auction to distribute up to $500 million in funds to provide broadband service of at least 100 Mbps to unserved and underserved communities. The letter asked the FCC to "reconsider a nationwide auction plan and instead directly allocate CAF Phase II funds to those states that are prepared to disburse broadband funding directly." If not, the New York representatives said, the federal commission should at least provide bidding credits to carriers receiving state funds to deploy broadband to unserved and underserved areas, and to set an auction floor for each census block covered by CAF II.