Senators have raised concerns about the accuracy of a map the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is using to guide the allocation of more than $4 billion in subsidies intended to improve rural broadband access.
Under the FCC’s Mobility Fund Phase II (MFII) plan, funding will be redirected over the next decade away from areas where private investment has already built networks, and toward bringing 4G LTE service to underserved rural communities that lack reliable mobile broadband.
In an op-ed published in February, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai argued:
“Right now, the federal government spends about $25 million of taxpayer money each month to subsidize wireless carriers in areas where private capital has been spent building out networks. This is perhaps a textbook definition of waste: public funds being spent to do what the private sector has already done.
Three weeks from now [at the February 23 meeting], we will vote on redirecting that spending to something far more useful: bringing 4G LTE service to rural Americans who don’t have it today. I am proposing to couple our detailed coverage data with a robust challenge process to identify the areas most in need of service.”
Despite the chairman’s stated intent, the areas the FCC’s map labels as most in need are now under challenge.
A bipartisan group of senators, led by Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Senator Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), says the FCC’s map contains significant flaws. In a letter to Chairman Pai, they requested a 90-day extension of the formal challenge window so state, local and tribal authorities and other stakeholders have adequate time to review and correct the map.
The senators say the map inaccurately shows many places in their states as served by 4G LTE when residents’ firsthand experience indicates otherwise. They warn that communities not identified as eligible—or unable to successfully challenge the designation—could be excluded from as much as $4.53 billion in support over the next ten years, worsening the digital divide and undermining economic and public-safety opportunities for rural residents.
“Dear Chairman Pai:
As you know, many of us have expressed concern about the accuracy of the Federal Communications Commission’s map of eligible areas for Mobility Fund Phase II Support (MFII). This map is intended to reflect areas that lack unsubsidized mobile 4G LTE service, but it unfortunately falls short of an accurate depiction of areas in need of universal service support. Therefore, the FCC’s challenge process will play an outsized role in determining appropriate eligible areas for MFII support. Communities in our states that are not initially eligible or successfully challenged will be ineligible for up to $4.53 billion in support over the next 10 years, exacerbating the digital divide and denying fundamental economic and safety opportunities to rural communities.
While you have noted that state, local, and Tribal governments can participate in the challenge process, absent additional direction, they may remain unaware or unprepared to do so. We appreciate and encourage additional outreach to state, local, and Tribal governments on how they can participate in the challenge process. However, with less than 100 days remaining and additional state outreach presentations not yet completed, MFII challengers will struggle within the current timeframe to provide requisite information that will correct significant flaws in the current map. Additionally, the parameters for challenges have already changed once during the existing challenge timeframe through the Order on Reconsideration on April 30, 2018, altering existing measurements for challenges.
In recent testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee, you expressed that the FCC has ‘some flexibility [for] an extension of time’ to ensure sufficient time for state and local governments, as well as carriers and other potential challengers, such as state farm bureaus, to fully participate in the process. To provide this additional time and encourage participation in the challenge process, we urge you to extend the current challenge process window by 90 days.
The MFII process presents an opportunity to take significant steps to address the digital divide and preserve and expand mobile broadband in rural areas. We strongly urge you to ensure this opportunity is available to all communities deserving support through compiling accurate data that reflects our constituents’ experience, including providing additional time for challengers to submit data, conducting additional information sessions for state, local, and Tribal governments, and providing Congress with an update on final eligible areas before conducting an auction of support.”
In addition to Senators Wicker and Hassan, the letter was signed by a broad bipartisan group, including Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Angus King (I-Maine), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Christopher Coons (D-Del.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.).
The senators emphasize that while the FCC has allowed state, local, and tribal governments to participate in the challenge process, many jurisdictions may not yet be aware of the process or prepared to submit the technical information and evidence required to correct mapping errors. They note that outreach efforts are ongoing but incomplete, and that an extension would give communities time to gather data, prepare filings, and participate meaningfully.
The letter also points out that the challenge parameters were revised once during the current window—through an Order on Reconsideration issued April 30, 2018—altering measurements used to evaluate challenges, which further complicates timely participation.
Senators argue an extension would ensure that the MFII program more accurately targets support to places that truly lack unsubsidized 4G LTE service, preventing wasteful subsidization of areas already served and directing scarce federal funds to communities most in need.
Do you think the FCC should extend its challenge window? Share your view in the comments.