A brief
overview of the Connect America Fund (CAF).
As an extension of the Universal Service Fund, CAF is the FCC's program
to expand access to voice and broadband services to un[der]served, rural communities.
Phase I, which began in 2012 and ended a year later, combined millions of
public and private funds to expand broadband services to unserved, rural
areas. Phase II began in 2015. In the second phase, the FCC will provide
over $1.5 billion per year for six years to price-cap carriers to subsidize their
“cost of building new network infrastructure or performing network upgrades to
provide voice and broadband service in areas where it is lacking” (fcc.gov).
The support comes with strings attached. After all, there is NO SUCH THING AS A FREE
LUNCH! If a carrier accepts CAF Phase II
money, it must provide the broadband service at speeds of at least 10 megabits
per second (Mbps) downstream and 1 Mbps upstream, and at reasonably comparable
rates found in urban areas. Verizon
evaluated the tradeoff as not being worth it.
But, where does that leave residents of rural communities in the state
of Pennsylvania? The PUC and Sen. Bob Casey believe that the PA
funds should not be at risk for leaving the state in a competitive bidding
process. Instead, the state should be entitled
to “keep” the CAF funds. Specifically, other
providers in the state who have agreed to participate in the program (like
CenturyLink or Windstream) should get the money. Let’s see what the FCC thinks of that idea.
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