WTA Concerned About Fiber Contract Construction Service Costs, Availability
Fiber cable and contract construction services likely will "become much more expensive or unavailable" as industry deploys new broadband facilities in coming years under various FCC programs, warned WTA, lobbying the agency on the group's petition for reconsideration of a…
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rate-of-return USF overhaul order (see 1605250068). Representatives of the RLEC group also said FCC guidance is needed on how transactions would be handled under a new broadband model and an updated rate-of-return mechanism. "Should actual build-out costs significantly exceed the estimated costs used by the Commission to set its 5-year build-out requirement for the Rate of Return Path and its 10-year build-out requirement for the Model Path, those build-out requirements will become onerous or impossible to achieve with the applicable high-cost support," said a WTA filing posted Tuesday in docket 10-90 summarizing a meeting with Wireline Bureau officials. "WTA has requested a streamlined process for revising build-out requirements for carriers on both Paths if substantial cost increases or other materially changed circumstances render the current build-out requirements unreasonable or impossible." The group said rural telcos increasingly are concerned that "digital subscriber line ('DSL') charges, middle mile costs and customer service expenses" are hindering their ability to certify that they satisfy the FCC's "reasonably comparable rate benchmarks for broadband service." Entities seeking a reduction in an ILEC's Connect America Fund support should be required to offer the same broadband speeds and comply with the same service duties, said WTA. It said members don't expect to receive support where cable companies offer equivalent service but have concerns about "questionable claims" by wireless ISPs.