Mobility Fund Order Says FCC is Taking Financially Responsible Approach to LTE Buildout
The FCC released the text of its Mobility Fund II (MF-II) order, which commissioners approved at their Feb. 23 meeting (see 1702230042). The order projects an MF-II auction next year. It provides $453 million per year over 10 years to…
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preserve and extend 4G LTE in areas where the market otherwise wouldn't support wireless broadband. “We expect to release a list of presumptively eligible areas shortly, to finalize the challenge process in the coming months, and to conclude the challenge process by January 31, 2018,” the FCC said. “We expect to commence the auction shortly thereafter.” The FCC will start phasing out some legacy funding in the first month after the close of the MF-II auction, the order said. It counters what it says are arguments by some commenters that the FCC is dedicating too little money to the new fund. “The amount we dedicate reflects our priorities in allocating a finite budget to areas of greatest need to maintain and expand critical mobile voice and broadband services,” the order said. “Our MF-II budget is based on the current high-cost support received by wireless providers of approximately $483 million per year, excluding Alaska, minus $30 million per year, representing the amount (spread over ten years) we estimate is needed to fund a two-year phase-down in census blocks where private capital has fully deployed 4G LTE.” That level of support over the next 10 years “will allow MF-II to achieve its objectives in a fiscally responsible manner,” the FCC said. Rural Wireless Association General Counsel Caressa Bennet welcomed release of the order. “In particular, RWA remains pleased that the challenge process will be addressed by a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,” she said in a statement. “There is no program more vital to maintaining and expanding mobile voice and broadband services in rural America.”