NTCA Presses FCC to Boost USF Amid Signs Rural Support 'Woefully' Inadequate
NTCA called on the FCC to increase funding for rural broadband subsidy support in the wake of recent agency indications there's a USF budget shortfall for rate-of-return carriers. First, the commission announced small rural carriers receiving "non-model" funding would face…
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an average 9 percent reduction in support in the first half of 2017, which the group estimates could cost the carriers $100 million, said CEO Shirley Bloomfield in a blog post Tuesday. Then, she said, the FCC revealed that an additional $150 million in funding for carriers opting into model-based support was $160 million less than the demand. "The sum total of these two numbers -- just under $260 million -- provides proof positive that the high-cost USF program for smaller carriers is woefully underfunded,” she wrote. "Failure to address such budget concerns comprehensively could both undermine the success of model election efforts and have a significant adverse impact on the consumer rates for standalone broadband that were a substantial driver of reform," said a related NTCA filing Wednesday in docket 10-90 on discussions with aides to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and Mike O'Rielly. "In finalizing the implementation of model-based support, the Commission should: (1) ensure appropriate recalibration of buildout obligations in light of any USF support shortfalls; and (2) avoid any adverse impact of any kind now or in the future upon the hundreds of companies that did not elect model-based support but yet already face significant USF support reductions in 2017 due to the 'budget controls' that will hinder their ability to keep investing, to repay loans for investments already made, and to offer affordable, quality broadband services to consumers."