RCA Aims for August Alaska USF Update
With federal broadband dollars on the way, Regulatory Commission of Alaska staff disagree with using Alaska USF (AUSF) to subsidize high-speed internet, said RCA Common Carrier Specialist David Parrish at a virtual commission meeting Wednesday. The commission could finalize an AUSF update rulemaking (R-21-001) by August under a staff memo outlining a tentative schedule, he said. Chairman Bob Pickett said he’s “looking forward to getting this process moving again.”
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Everyone agrees it’s in the public interest to continue the AUSF -- set to sunset June 30, 2023 -- but there’s “no clear consensus” on how the RCA should proceed, said Parrish: Staff is coming up with its own AUSF plan because it disagrees with two proposals submitted by industry groups the Matanuska Telecom Association (MTA) and the Alaska Remote Carrier Coalition (ARCC). Both groups proposed changing AUSF contribution to a connections-based method. ARCC proposed transitioning the fund over time to support broadband (see 2109020032).
Expect staff’s plan to fall within the existing AUSF and essential network support framework and rely on historical carrier common line revenue requirements, Parrish said. It plans to finalize “at least the broad strokes” before a proposed March 18 workshop, he said: A second workshop is tentatively scheduled for April 8, and staff then would give commissioners a progress report at its April 13 public meeting. “If there is progress,” staff would propose draft rules as soon as May “with hopes of a final determination in August.” That would give carriers about 10 months to adjust to any AUSF changes before the June 2023 sunset, Parrish said.
The ARCC proposal correctly targets areas “with the greatest need, but it employs complex modeling, and it’s focused on broadband deployment, something for which substantial federal dollars are already being earmarked,” Parrish said. “Staff does not believe voice customers should be subsidizing broadband development and deployment as a rule.” The ARCC’s plan to require broadband to pay into the fund, “while certainly equitable, has not been blessed by the FCC and is certain to invite a court challenge.”
MTA’s proposed contribution method change would fully fund AUSF but wouldn’t add metrics “to assess and target scarce funds based on relative need,” Parrish said. Several recipients have reported using funds to deploy fiber, which is more for broadband than basic voice, he said. “And yet they are … being subsidized by a surcharge on voice connections only, which is … inherently inequitable.”
There are legal problems to having AUSF subsidize broadband, Parrish cautioned. “As much as I believe that broadband is -- or at least should be -- considered a utility service, and as much as I believe that all Alaskans require access to that service to participate effectively in modern society,” the AUSF statute and its limits on RCA rules “must be addressed.”
Pickett asked about impact of federal funding and the state opening a broadband office. Even with incoming cash, there will probably be areas that don’t immediately benefit, answered Parrish: AUSF should target areas where voice is the primary means of telecom access. “What’s being designed in the staff proposal will have a feedback loop, so that as broadband gets deployed, the AUSF can … winnow away” and remain targeted on such voice-centric places.
ARCC looks forward to seeing specifics of RCA staff’s plan and believes finalizing rules by August is “achievable,” said GVNW Consulting Vice President-Public Policy Jeff Smith, speaking for the coalition, in an interview. With members that serve Alaskan villages accessible only by boat or plane, ARCC was pleased Parrish said the group’s proposal focused on the right areas, he said: The group is “still analyzing” the official’s broadband comments, said Smith. Many states are saying they want to see the federal funding's impact, he noted, but it could be several years before Alaska sees results. An MTA attorney didn't comment.