INCOMPAS last week filed reply comments in the FCC's Notice of Inquiry that sought
comment on whether and how the Commission should modify its current USF high-cost support program considering the anticipated deployment in high-cost areas of next-generation broadband networks as a result of recent federal and state subsidy programs.
INCOMPAS noted that "the Commission needs to develop a better understanding of the economics of broadband networks serving rural America, including those that have received support through federal and state funding programs and have deployed fiber to their customers, given that the costs to maintain fiber networks are lower."
As INCOMPAS explained in filings in the Future of USF proceeding, the reply comments continued, "the FCC should evaluate the continued need of each USF program in order to evaluate the future of the USF most effectively and how it relates to the billions of dollars coming from federal and state funding. Additionally, the FCC should be gathering information about all funding projects at the federal and state level being used to bridge the digital divide and assess their impact, if any, on the USF."
Read INCOMPAS's reply comments here.
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