The Utilities Telecom Council asked the FCC to...
The Utilities Telecom Council asked the FCC to “streamline” the process by which utilities or other critical infrastructure entities can access the Connect America Fund (CAF) as a certified eligible telecom carrier (ETC), and make available funds that go unused…
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by price-cap carriers for serving unserved and underserved areas (http://bit.ly/1dmivDM). “By removing these barriers, the Commission would promote broadband deployment” by electric utilities, said UTC in a Monday letter. “UTC suggests that the Commission permit entities whose applications for ETC designation are still pending (and who are otherwise eligible) to be eligible to obtain access to CAF through its Phase I or Phase II funding mechanisms. That way, an entity that succeeds in applying for CAF to serve a certain unserved study area can become an ETC after it has successfully obtained access to CAF funds.” That would reduce the uncertainty and delay that often discourages utilities from participating in CAF, the group said. “This simple change can release market forces that are unnecessarily restrained under legacy requirements from the Universal Service Fund that have been carried over and made applicable to the CAF."