RDOF Hopefuls Look Toward 2020 Auction Rulemaking
ISPs expect wide participation in the first phase of the $20 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auctions FCC Chairman Ajit Pai signaled he wants in 2020, they said in interviews this month. RDOF replaces the Connect America Fund phase II USF program that supports deployment in high-cost, sparsely populated areas (see 1907110031). "We'll start to see the pace of things quicken in 2020," said Mike Saperstein, USTelecom vice president-policy and advocacy.
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A rulemaking could be on commissioners' meeting calendar as early as January or February, industry officials said. "We know it's a priority of the chairman's," said Kelley Drye's Tom Cohen, America's Communications Association outside counsel. "We support moving expeditiously." Holding the reverse auction in 2020 is "doable," Cohen said, because FCC staff gained experience with the auction structure in CAF II auctions. To hold RDOF auctions, the agency must adopt a rulemaking, set auction procedural rules and release a short-form application, he noted. "If the goal is to conduct an auction in 2020, the earlier the order, the easier that will be to effectuate," said ITTA President Genny Morelli.
Activity heated up in recent weeks (docket 19-126), leading many to speculate a rulemaking could come. Structural changes that would slow down implementation aren't expected. Stakeholders are lobbying on smaller tweaks.
Most National Rural Electric Cooperative Association members think 25/3 Mpbs download/upload is too low, said Brian O'Hara, senior director-regulatory issues for telecom and broadband. He's thankful the FCC is dropping 10/1 for RDOF. "If we're going out for a 10-year build, we've got to be thinking about the future." He suggested bidders that plan gigabit speeds get precedence over lower tiers if they come in under the FCC cost model. "If you have two gigabit bidders, they should continue to bid against each other, but if it's a gigabit and 25/3," the better network should win once it's below budget, he said.
Preference should go to ISPs that can deliver symmetrical speeds, said Derrick Owens, WTA senior vice president-government affairs. He noted reliability is important, as is ability to serve subscribers regardless of on-the-ground conditions. "Localized maintenance, that should count," said Owens. Voice and E-911 capabilities are important, too, he said.
Hughes urged the FCC to set rules on performance metrics for hybrid networks that combine satellite broadband with terrestrial technologies such as fixed wireless to fill in when low-latency service is needed, such as during videogaming, said Jennifer Manner, senior vice president-regulatory affairs. "It's an option we'd like to pursue." Hughes wants the FCC to reconsider an increased penalty for latency. In an FCC filing posted Monday in docket 19-126, Viasat said facilitating the use of hybrid technologies could bolster the competitiveness of the RDOF auction.
"We like that the FCC is continuing the technology neutral approach," said Justin Forde, Midco senior director-government relations. "We deliver broadband in multiple ways, and we'd like the RDOF to focus on areas that are truly unserved." Forde would like areas to come up for bid in lots smaller than the census blocks in for the CAF II to allow providers like his cable operator to deliver broadband to neighbors just outside their service territories.
The Wireless ISP Association seeks a 50/5 tier, just above the lowest 25/3, said Louis Peraertz, vice president-policy. WISPA prefers the FCC delay its first auction until it updates its broadband maps with serviceable location data, or at least seeks more accurate polygon mapping data.
CenturyLink has been in talks with the agency "at the conceptual level" on how the FCC might update location counts tied to winning bidder obligations during the course of the 10-year program, said Randy Clarke, vice president-federal regulatory affairs. "It's an opportunity to take another look at better data when it's available." That's so the FCC can use the best data to calibrate buildout obligations, Clarke said.
WISPA questioned a proposal that providers meet subscriber milestones as high as 70 percent of their territory, said Peraertz: "There's no way for a universal service participant to know or control the demand." Mike Romano, NTCA senior vice president-industry affairs and business development, said NTCA doesn't mind the concept of subscribership metrics but thinks the 70 percent mark is too high for new entrants, especially if there's an incumbent ISP delivering even 10/1.
RDOF "is one of the most important universal subsidy projects the current commission is starting," said Peraertz. "They're going to take their time to get the framework right."