Manchin, Moran Urge FCC 'Move Forward' on RAF
Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., urged FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to “move forward” with the Remote Areas Fund (RAF) to “appropriately target limited [USF] support towards the most difficult to serve areas in our states that remain…
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unserved.” The senators told Pai they are “encouraged” by the March Connect America Fund II auction order, which committed to prioritized funding in an RAF auction, to occur one year after the CAF II auction, for states where large telcos declined funding offers (see 1703020029). Many RAF-eligible communities “still lack access to a viable broadband option,” the senators wrote. “We believe the RAF must be structured to reach these extremely high-cost areas throughout rural America.” Tech-neutral rules for RAF “will encourage broad and robust provider participation and will increase the likelihood that these remote areas will be served and deliver the most value per limited resources spent,” the senators said: "Providers, regardless of technology," should be able to "compete to serve unserved or underserved areas that have the greatest need for new broadband deployment.”