FCC to Adopt GAO's 5 Recommendations for Its High-Cost Broadband Programs
The FCC should take five new steps to manage fraud risks in its USF programs supporting broadband deployment in high-cost rural areas, said a GAO report released Monday. It recommended the FCC: (1) ensure it follows leading practices from a…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
GAO fraud risk framework; (2) plan regular fraud-risk assessments tailored to the high-cost program and assess those risks; (3) design and implement an anti-fraud strategy for the high-cost program with specific control activities based upon the results of the fraud-risk assessment and a corresponding fraud risk profile; (4) assess the model-based support mechanism to determine how well it produces reliable cost estimates; and (5) consider whether to mandate the use of the model-based support mechanism depending on the results of the assessment. "Given the continuing importance of deploying telecommunications services in difficult-to-serve areas, effective oversight for rate-of-return carriers is an important component for helping ensure that the high-cost program's finite funds are used properly to meet the intent of the program," GAO said. House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said he “requested this report because it was clear FCC was failing to adequately protect the high-cost program against flagrant waste, fraud and abuse of federal funds by some rate-of-return carriers.” The GAO “agrees” with that view and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai “must heed GAO’s recommendations and implement an antifraud strategy for the program,” Pallone said. In comments attached to the public report, FCC Managing Director Mark Stephens and Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith said the agency remains "committed to our statutory obligation to close the digital divide, while preventing waste, fraud, and abuse of universal service funding." They noted the FCC gave small, rural carriers the opportunity to elect model-based high-cost support "in exchange for robust broadband deployment" to help advance its objective to protect USF from waste, fraud and abuse. The FCC said it will implement the GAO's recommendations through the Office of the Managing Director.