Walden, Pallone, Lujan Write Pai on Operating Expense Limitation Rules for Tribal Carriers
House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., jointly urged the FCC Friday to “act expeditiously” to revise operating expense limitation rules for carriers serving tribal lands. Tribal carriers encounter…
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“considerable operating expenses” because of geographical and other barriers, including increases in “the cost of installing infrastructure, limited financial resources” that deter providers from investing in improved service, and a “shortage of technically trained Native Nation members to plan and implement improvements,” the lawmakers said in a letter to Pai. Revising the operating expense limitation rules “will allow carriers serving Tribal lands to be adequately compensated for necessary expenses, enabling these carriers to continue deployment in unserved areas.” Pai "agrees that the operating expense limitation rules should be revised to adequately compensate carriers serving Tribal lands, and that's why he has cast his vote in favor of an order that would do just that," emailed an FCC spokesman.