ViaSat Counters ACA Assertions on Satellite Broadband for CAF II Fixed Auction
ViaSat disputed American Cable Association arguments on the FCC's planned auction of Connect America Fund Phase II subsidies for fixed broadband/voice services. "ACA incorrectly asserts that 'no US satellite broadband provider currently publicly offers 25/3 Mbps with a data cap…
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of at least 150 GB.' ViaSat is already providing satellite broadband service at 25/3 Mbps with a 150 GB monthly data allowance," ViaSat said in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 10-90. Commissioners are scheduled to vote on bid weights and some other rules at Thursday's meeting (see 1702170048). ACA "misrepresents" satellite broadband costs for CAF II, including by assuming total costs would be $200 per subscriber, which ViaSat said was based on another entity's comment that doesn't apply to ViaSat. "ACA flatly ignores ViaSat’s unrebutted record evidence of the substantial costs involved in providing satellite broadband service," said the filing. It also disputed ACA claims that incremental satellite broadband costs for serving new locations were effectively zero. "ACA's comparison of the results of different weighting methodologies and its predictions of how different technologies would fare in the auction is misleading," ViaSat wrote. "ACA’s weighting scheme, like that proposed by the Rural Coalition, is just that: a carefully constructed scheme designed to ensure that fiber and cable technologies win -- and satellite providers lose -- no matter what prices the fiber and cable providers bid." ViaSat said it was making the filing under FCC rules to answer ACA's late submission, including over 20 pages of new material. In response, ACA called for rules maximizing broadband provider participation, "including those offering satellite, DSL, fixed wireless, and fiber," and driving bids "to their most cost efficient levels" using limited funds for the greatest benefit. "ACA examined the proposed weightings from all parties and the FCC by applying both public and private data on costs to all eligible census blocks for all technologies," emailed Ross Lieberman, senior vice president-government affairs. "This analysis demonstrated that ACA’s proposed methodology treated all technologies fairly. In fact, under ACA’s proposed methodology, contrary to ViaSat’s claim, satellite could do very well, notwithstanding that consumers rarely choose satellite today. In seeking to rebut ACA’s analysis, ViaSat does not undertake a rigorous analysis. Instead, it again does nothing more than use hypothetical bids numbers to produce 'guesswork results.'"