Wheeler Defends A-CAM to Washington State Delegation
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler tried to calm USF concerns from members of the Washington state congressional delegation, which aired strong concerns about the Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) in an Oct. 29 letter led by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.…
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The Washington lawmakers warned of “significant reduction in high-cost support” for the rural parts of their state under current models of the A-CAM and feared the model's “efficacy.” The dozen signatories of the bipartisan letter include Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat in leadership, and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chairwoman of the House Republican Conference. Wheeler responded Dec. 16, defending the A-CAM modeling: “I expect the next version of A-CAM will include company-specific inputs for plant mix (the ratios of aerial, buried and underground outside plant) also based on submissions by rate-of-return companies.” He said that under recent examinations eight of 18 Washington state rate-of-return carriers “would receive more support from the [A-CAM] model than they currently receive from the legacy funding mechanisms, rather than less.” He said work on the model is ongoing but the current results suggest benefits for Washington.