State Commissioner Asks FCC to End Mobility Fund II 'Nightmare,' Likening App to Healthcare.gov
The FCC should rethink the state challenge process for Mobility Fund II, said Mississippi Public Service Commission Chairman Brandon Presley. After drafting a NARUC resolution ( 1810300037), the Democrat said in an interview Tuesday the process has been a "nightmare" and his state could lose millions of dollars. “It doesn’t seem that even the FCC knows what the process involves,” so “it’s important for them to stop, back up and get it right.” The FCC defended the MF-II process Wednesday. NARUC members told us they're reviewing the measure that’s supported by small rural carriers.
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NARUC plans to vote on the MF-II resolution at its annual meeting Nov. 11-14 in Orlando. The MF-II challenge window shuts Nov. 26. It opened March 29 and the FCC extended the deadline by 90 days (see 1808210044). The fund will provide up to $4.53 billion to support 4G LTE in unserved areas.
The process is “totally screwed up,” and “either needs to be delayed or totally thrown in the trash,” said Presley. About 1,300 citizen volunteers in his northern district used the FCC speed test app, he said. Users found the iPhone version didn’t record location of dead zones, and the bug took more than a month for the FCC to fix, said Presley. “This is like Healthcare.gov when you couldn’t use the website.”
“This is a monumental effort that citizens are having to do because the FCC is too lazy to put together a process themselves that is independent of the carriers that shows the dead zones,” the commissioner said. The FCC should test coverage, he said. “The last time I checked, it’s the FCC’s responsibility to ensure good phone service.” The draft resolution notes “overwhelmed employees who are under immense pressure to answer a large volume of questions.” Presley said his office has been able to reach only two FCC employees with concerns. “They’ve been very nice, but they’ve got other duties,” he said. “How are they going to answer questions from 50 states and thousands of people taking these tests?”
The FCC is “moving forward to reform the Mobility Fund, which today pays duplicative subsidies to multiple carriers to serve the same area without any obligation to deploy high-speed mobile broadband,” a spokesman said. “The need for reform is urgent because far too many Americans still lack high-quality mobile broadband services.” The agency “has been working with all parties to effectuate an efficient challenge process, including decisions this year to extend the deadlines of that process and reduce the burden of participation,” he said.
Presley has yet to consult other NARUC members about his resolution. He submitted it to the Consumers and Public Interest Committee because he isn’t a Telecom Committee member, but the latter could take it up at the meeting. NARUC “has a process that allows another committee to take up resolutions introduced in another committee,” emailed Telecom Committee Chairman Paul Kjellander, an Idaho commissioner. “We still have time to review the resolution.”
“I'm unaware of any specific problems in my state and I've reached out to a few other states to try and learn more,” said Kjellander, previously a Republican Idaho House member. Telecom Committee member Travis Kavulla (R) shares “the concern about accurate mapping,” saying he's “reluctant to support anything that would further delay the implementation.”
“I understand the frustration expressed in this resolution with the costly and impractical process provided by the FCC for challenging the Mobility Fund auction map,” emailed Telecom Committee member Chris Nelson (R), a South Dakota public utilities commissioner. “In South Dakota, as in many rural states, our challenge process is hampered by the requirement to test one kilometer squares when most of the public roads are on one mile grids thus necessitating the need to request permission to enter private property.” The South Dakota PUC “is working hard to test as many areas as we can by the FCC deadline,” the commissioner said. Mobility Fund maps must be accurate for a successful auction, which should “move forward expeditiously so that further buildout can happen sooner rather than later,” Nelson said.
The Competitive Carriers Association “shares many of the same concerns regarding the Mobility Fund II process, in particular the inaccuracies in the FCC’s eligibility map,” emailed President Steven Berry. “The Commission’s map overestimates coverage areas in rural America, and as a result, carriers have had to devote significant time, energy and financial resources to correct inaccurate data.” Reliable information is essential to reaching unserved areas, he said. “Decisions made with incorrect data will have a devastating impact on funding availability for the next ten years.” CTIA didn’t comment.
“You can’t get a cellphone signal with a SWAT team or a search warrant” in parts of some Mississippi counties, said Presley. Big wireless carriers “are not going to serve rural areas and they tell you they’re not going to serve rural areas.” Presley sees the current FCC as the most anti-rural commission in history, mainly serving carriers, said the Democrat, saying it’s not a partisan issue and he invites Chairman Ajit Pai (R) to visit. “The FCC will not realize that rural America has been kicked in the teeth by telecom companies who do not care about them. And it’s becoming more apparent by the day that the FCC doesn’t care about rural people.”
“The Commission’s top priority is closing the digital divide, which is why it devoted an additional $500 million earlier this year to make it easier for small, rural carriers to deploy broadband, and held a $1.5 billion Connect America Fund auction,” emailed the FCC spokesman.