FCC Approves Extending Mobility Fund II Challenge Window Over Partial Dissent
FCC commissioners approved an order extending the Mobility Fund II challenge window by an additional 90 days. All four commissioners voted yes, though Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel partially dissented, saying the agency needs to do more on its own to fix the maps that will be used to identify areas without 4G LTE. The fund will provide up to $4.53 billion to support 4G LTE in unserved areas. Chairman Ajit Pai circulated an order earlier this month extending the challenge deadline (see 1808030042).
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The challenge window opened March 29 and was scheduled to close Aug. 27, the FCC said in the order. The new deadline is Nov. 26. This additional time, “for a total challenge window of 240 days, ultimately should result in a more efficient allocation of support funds, while still advancing the overall auction process to a timely conclusion, directing our limited funds to the unserved areas most in need, and completing the phase down of duplicative support that directs subsidies to areas already served by unsubsidized providers,” the FCC said.
The challenge process is “cumbersome, to say the least” and people should have more time to file challenges, Rosenworcel said. The FCC should get the Universal Service Administrative Co., which administers the fund, to do more work upfront, she said. “Why not give USAC a role in validating data before the auction, even by sampling?” she asked. “This kind of review, like audits, can be an essential tool to ensure program effectiveness.”
The FCC also should ask for help from the FCC field offices, Rosenworcel said. “There’s no reason why this agency should not use the spectrum expertise and tools it already has deployed,” she said. More than 200,000 volunteers have already downloaded the FCC’s speed test app to collect anonymized wireless broadband performance data, Rosenworcel said: “Excluding crowdsourcing from our innovation toolkit means forgoing the opportunity for better maps.”
“Make no mistake: our current 4G service maps are not perfect by any means and are rightfully criticized,” Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said in a statement. “This needs to improve significantly or Federal universal service fund monies will be wasted, thereby over-subsiding those that don’t deserve it and penalizing those consumers in need. To do this, the Commission needs to work with all parties to find acceptable parameters for the challenge process.”
The FCC also released a letter to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., assuring her that her concerns on the fund are being addressed. The MF-II auction is "a unique opportunity to accelerate the deployment of wireless services to unserved communities,” Pai said. "You have shown me firsthand the difficulties of deploying broadband, and especially high-quality mobile broadband, in the hollers of West Virginia, and the Commission is taking action to ensure an area's topography is addressed as part of the ... auction."