Reply Comments of the Coalition of Rural Wireless Carriers on 5G Fund for Rural America Rulemaking

On behalf of the Coalition of Rural Wireless Carriers, LLGS filed reply comments with the FCC regarding the 5G Fund auction NPRM, acknowledging the agreement among commenters that the Commission should not spend $8 billion on the 5G Fund auction before having accurate maps and encouraging the adoption of Option B (collecting new data before funding 5G deployment). 

Additionally, the Coalition pointed out that commenters agreed that the Commission is not permitted to conduct the auction until coverage maps are in place per the Broadband DATA Act.  The Coalition asked the Commission to not adopt mechanisms that force carriers to spend millions of dollars to perform multiple speed tests in every square kilometer of a served area, or to provide service to areas in circumstances that would demonstrably waste support.

The Coalition also noted that commenters opposed changing the transition mechanism for carriers receiving legacy support and reiterated that T-Mobile should be barred from participating in the 5G Fund auction.  The Coalition opposed proposals to increase the latency threshold to 200 ms.  Finally, it noted that legacy high-cost support has enabled the construction, maintenance, and upgrading of facilities in rural areas that would never have been built without legacy support.

A copy of the Coalition of Rural Wireless Carriers’ reply comments can be found here.

Should you have any questions, please contact David LaFuria at dlafuria@fcclaw.com.