82 FR 4275 - Connect America Fund

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 9 (January 13, 2017)

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) seeks comment on whether to expand the Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) budget for rate-of-return carriers to provide additional funding with an associated increase in broadband deployment obligations.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4275-4276]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00598]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 54

[WC Docket No. 10-90; FCC 16-178]


Connect America Fund

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) seeks comment on whether to expand the Alternative Connect 
America Cost Model (A-CAM) budget for rate-of-return carriers to 
provide additional funding with an associated increase in broadband 
deployment obligations.

DATES: Comments are due on or before February 13, 2017 and reply 
comments are due on or before February 27, 2017. If you anticipate that 
you will be submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within 
the period of time allowed by this document, you should advise the 
contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by WC Docket No. 10-90, 
by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Federal Communications Commission's Web site: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/. Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed 
electronically using the Internet by accessing the ECFS: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/.
    [ssquf] Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must file 
an original and one copy of each filing. Because more than one docket 
number appears in the caption of this proceeding, filers must submit 
two additional copies for each additional docket number.
     Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by 
commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. 
Postal Service mail. All filings must be addressed to the Commission's 
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
    [cir] All hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for 
the Commission's Secretary must be delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445 
12th St. SW., Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554. The filing hours are 
8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together with 
rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes and boxes must be disposed of 
before entering the building.
    [ssquf] Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service 
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton 
Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
    [ssquf] U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority mail 
must be addressed to 445 12th St. SW., Washington, DC 20554.
     People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request 
reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language 
interpreters, CART, etc.) by email: [email protected] or phone: (202) 418-
0530 or TTY: (202) 418-0432.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexander Minard, Wireline Competition 
Bureau, (202) 418-7400 or TTY: (202) 418-0484.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a synopsis of the Commission's 
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) in WC Docket No. 10-90; 
FCC 16-178, adopted on December 19, 2016 and released on December 20, 
2016. The full text of this document is available for public inspection 
during regular business hours in the FCC Reference Center, Room CY-
A257, 445 12th St. SW., Washington, DC 20554 or at the following 
Internet address: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2016/db1220/FCC-16-178A1.pdf.

I. Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

    1. In this Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission 
seeks

[[Page 4276]]

comment on whether to allocate additional high-cost funding to the 
voluntary path to the model. Rate-of-return carriers that accept the 
second offer of model-based support will do so on the condition that 
they commit to meet the deployment obligations of the original offer if 
authorized no later than December 31, 2017 to receive additional A-CAM 
funding equivalent to the original offer. The Commission therefore 
seeks comment on whether the Commission should further increase the 
budget for A-CAM to provide the full amount of the original offer for 
some or all of those carriers that accepted the second offer of model-
based support.
    2. The Commission seeks comment on increasing the budget by a 
lesser amount. If the increased budget for A-CAM were insufficient to 
cover all participants, should the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) 
prioritize funding to those with the least broadband deployment using 
the same data set as that utilized for the adjusted offer? 
Alternatively, if the Commission increases the budget by a smaller 
amount, should the Bureau revise the offers to an amount less than the 
original offer? In that latter situation, the Commission expects that 
the Bureau would make a new offer, limited to the carriers that 
originally elected the first offer and accepted the revised offer; 
those carriers would be free to choose whether to accept that new offer 
and the associated broadband deployment obligations.
    3. The Commission notes that commenters responding to the Bureau's 
A-CAM Election Results Public Notice uniformly support increasing the 
A-CAM budget by more than $50 million. The Commission would need to 
increase the overall high-cost budget by an additional $110 million per 
year if all carriers elect the second offer, and by a lesser amount if 
fewer do. The Commission invites comment from all interested 
stakeholders on whether to enlarge the budget for A-CAM support, 
including the costs and benefits of allocating limited funding for this 
particular purpose.

II. Procedural Matters

    4. This document does not contain new information collection 
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Public Law 104-13. In addition, therefore, it does not contain any new 
or modified information collection burden for small business concerns 
with fewer than 25 employees, pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork 
Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4).
    5. In the April 2014 Connect America FNPRM, 79 FR 39196, July 9, 
2014, the Commission proposed a framework for a voluntary election by 
rate-of-return carriers to receive model-based support and tentatively 
concluded that such a framework could achieve important universal 
service benefits by creating incentives for deployment of voice and 
broadband-capable infrastructure. The Commission sought written comment 
on the proposal, including comment on the Initial Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis (IRFA). The Commission did not receive any 
comments on the April 2014 Connect America FNPRM IRFA. In the Rate-of-
Return Reform Order, 81 FR 24282, April 25, 2016, the Commission 
adopted a voluntary path under which rate-of-return carriers may elect 
to receive model-based support for a term of 10 years in exchange for 
meeting defined build-out obligations. The Commission issued a Final 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) that conforms to the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), as amended. This present Report and 
Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking implements the 
framework previously adopted by the Commission and seeks comment on 
additional funding to implement that framework. The Commission 
promulgates no additional final rules, and our present action is, 
therefore, not an RFA matter.
    6. The proceeding this Notice initiates shall be treated as a 
``permit-but-disclose'' proceeding in accordance with the Commission's 
ex parte rules. Persons making ex parte presentations must file a copy 
of any written presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral 
presentation within two business days after the presentation (unless a 
different deadline applicable to the Sunshine period applies). Persons 
making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda 
summarizing the presentation must (1) list all persons attending or 
otherwise participating in the meeting at which the ex parte 
presentation was made, and (2) summarize all data presented and 
arguments made during the presentation. If the presentation consisted 
in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments already 
reflected in the presenter's written comments, memoranda or other 
filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such 
data or arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other 
filings (specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where 
such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the 
memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex 
parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must 
be filed consistent with rule 1.1206(b). In proceedings governed by 
rule 1.49(f) or for which the Commission has made available a method of 
electronic filing, written ex parte presentations and memoranda 
summarizing oral ex parte presentations, and all attachments thereto, 
must be filed through the electronic comment filing system available 
for that proceeding, and must be filed in their native format (e.g., 
.doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants in this proceeding 
should familiarize themselves with the Commission's ex parte rules.
    7. People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible 
formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic 
files, audio format), send an email to [email protected] or call the 
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-
418-0432 (TTY).

III. Ordering Clauses

    8. It is further ordered, pursuant to the authority contained in 
sections 1, 2, 4(i), 5, 10, 201-206, 214, 218-220, and 254 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and section 706 of the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i), 155, 160, 
201-206, 214, 218-220, 254, and 1302, and sections 1.1, 1.3, 1.421, 
1.427, and 1.429 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.1, 1.3, 1.421, 
1.427, and 1.429, that this Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is 
adopted, effective thirty (30) days after publication of the text or 
summary thereof in the Federal Register.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-00598 Filed 1-12-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P