The Rural Cellular Association has expressed concern that the Federal Communication Commission’s recent announcement of Mobility Fund Phase I procedures will reward large carriers like AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless.
The FCC announced last week procedures for a reverse auction to award $300 million in one-time Mobility Fund Phase I support.
Designated as Auction 901, it is the first auction to award high-cost universal service support through reverse competitive bidding, according to RCA.
RCA, while commending the FCC for recognizing the importance of making advanced mobile wireless services available to all citizens, expressed its concern that the commission’s auction procedures will harm smaller carriers.
“RCA members have been providing service to rural and high-cost areas for decades, and it is unfortunate that procedures in the FCC’s public notice seem to reward large carriers like AT&T and Verizon. The mobility fund is not a predictable or sufficient mechanism to advance universal service. Further, it seems to reward large carriers who have not yet built out their spectrum in rural and hard-to-reach areas,” RCA President & CEO Steven Berry said in a statement.
“Our carriers have already deployed 3G services in many rural and high-costs areas, yet they might not be able to participate in the mobility fund. I do not see the logic behind this thinking. Why penalize those carriers who have been providing services to customers in rural areas for years,” Berry added.
The RCA President noted that the FCC’s proposal requires that the recipients of Mobility Fund Phase I have to certify that they will provide service at comparable rates to a carrier in urban areas.
“Because the amount of the fund is insufficient, it will be nearly impossible for smaller rural and regional carriers to provide comparable services at comparable rates,” he said.
Berry said he hoped the FCC will look to the numerous benefits that many RCA members are already bringing to consumers in rural and high-cost areas as it moves forward on all universal service reform efforts.
