RWA Says Alaska Wireless Network Hasn't Addressed 700 MHz Waiver Concerns
The Rural Wireless Association said it still has concerns about an order by the FCC Wireless Bureau granting a waiver to the Alaska Wireless Network of both the interim and final geographic coverage requirements for a single 700 MHz license…
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covering the entire state. “The waiver approves an ambitious new set of built-out levels that are tailored to the unique circumstances of rural Alaska and are consistent with the purpose of default 700 MHz nationwide build-out requirements,” AWN said in a July 21 opposition to the RWA application for review. RWA said in its reply that AWN never addresses its complaint: “AWN’s argument that the Commission’s buildout requirements hinder rather than encourage expansion of service to rural areas is not based on any empirical evidence. AWN’s statement clearly demonstrates that the obstacle it faced in extending service to cover the 80 percent of the population that it desired to serve was not that the Commission’s buildout rules hinder rather than encourage the provision of service to rural areas as both the Bureau and AWN have claimed, but rather the fact that the license was allowed to lie fallow for more than seven years.” The comments were posted in docket 16-402.