FCC Approves 'Tailored' Broadband/Voice USF Duties for Alaska Communications

The order said ACS must offer at least 10/1 Mbps (down/up) broadband, "roundtrip provider network latency" of 100 milliseconds or less, a "usage allowance that evolves over time to remain reasonably comparable" to urban usage allowances, and broadband/voice rates that are "reasonably comparable" to urban rates. "These service obligations strike the appropriate balance of ensuring Alaska consumers receive broadband service while also allowing ACS the flexibility to provide that service in a way that is logical, maximizes its network and is reasonable considering the unique climate and geographic conditions of its service territory," the order said. The telecom provider didn't comment.

The commission said it recognized that price-cap telcos serving "non-contiguous" U.S. areas -- Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Marianas Islands -- "face different operating conditions and challenges" than those in the contiguous 48 states.

Clyburn said the order "fails to improve service to Bush Alaska" and was further evidence the FCC got an "Alaska Plan" wrong for rate-of-return telcos and wireless carriers in the state. She and Commissioner Ajit Pai dissented from a previous order, which she said gave hundreds of millions of dollars in USF support to overlapping wireless carriers instead of funding middle-mile connections (see 1608310067). "If we got it right, we could have used that as a basis for requiring [ACS] to bring broadband to the Bush," she said in a statement. "But without improved middle-mile, it is financially infeasible for them to do so. I am deeply disappointed that we cannot bring these rural communities out of the digital darkness. Duplicate funding elsewhere means no broadband for the neediest in rural Alaska."

Clyburn said she would generally back the order because it helps deliver broadband to thousands of Alaskans. She applauded her colleagues, and particularly Pai, for pushing to increase the number of locations ACS must serve with broadband. "This is a win for Alaska," she said. But Clyburn dissented from granting ACS eligible telecom carrier (ETC) forbearance relief she previously objected to in 2014 for other price-cap carriers. "The item forbears from ETC obligations in three broad areas: (1) census blocks that the cost model determines are 'low cost;' (2) census blocks served by an unsubsidized competitor; and (3) census blocks where another ETC receives support likely due to winning the competitive bidding process," she said. "These are all problematic, but particularly concerning is the forbearance for low-cost census blocks. ... [G]ranting forbearance from this category puts an incredible amount of faith in the cost model’s projection. This is belied by the record."

Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said he appreciated his colleagues' willingness to consider his views and generally find consensus, though he would have handled a couple of areas differently. "While the Commission decided, in this particular instance, to provide flexibility to include partially served areas, this should be seen as a one-time exception given the unparalleled size and terrain of Alaskan census blocks," he said in a statement. "The Commission should have conducted a more fulsome forbearance analysis, even though it has already provided similar relief to other carriers. Taken as a whole, however, the reforms adopted today will ensure demonstrable progress in serving Alaskan consumers, while including appropriate oversight, accountability, and targeting of ratepayer funding."