Senators Press FCC on Mobility Fund Phase II
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai should adopt the Mobility Fund Phase II, several senators recommended in a letter Thursday. “As you move forward with MFII, we ask that your efforts help to incent wireless carriers to preserve, upgrade, and expand mobile…
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broadband in rural America, rather than degrade and reduce competition in areas that need it most,” said the letter, led by Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. “Competing in a capital-intensive environment, wireless carriers need long-term certainty of ongoing support to invest, deploy, maintain, and update their networks that provide vital mobile broadband services in rural areas. As the best example, certainty should come in the form of sufficient and predictable USF support in both the implementation of MFII and the transition away from legacy support mechanisms over the next several years.” More than 20 other senators signed the letter, including Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Al Franken, D-Minn., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis. Competitive Carriers Association President Steve Berry lauded the letter. “The Senators are exactly right -- the FCC has the ability to provide this much-needed certainty now -- by ensuring sufficient and predictable USF support through implementation of a reasonable MFII program and the transition away from legacy support mechanisms over the next several years,” Berry said.