Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has proposed a program that would require operators serving the most remote parts of the United States to provide network speeds of at least 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream.
The proposed order would create a new iteration of the FCC’s high-cost program for remote areas, the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model, or Enhanced A-CAM, which would require deployment of 100/20 Mbps or faster service to all locations served by the program.
That would be a significant jump for A-CAM participants, which serve particularly remote areas that often have extremely low population density. According to the A-CAM program summary from the Universal Service Administrative Co., which administers the FCC’s USF and high-cost programs subsidizing rural service, the current ACAM, Revised ACAM and ACAM II requirements focus on service offerings of 25/3 Mbps–but in the most remote locations, a percentage of the offered speeds are allowed to be as low as 4/1 Mbps. The most recent A-CAM update, A-CAM II, is a 10-year program running through 2026 via which service providers receive monthly subsidies of up to $200 for each funded location to defray the cost of serving areas where there may be fewer than 10 locations per square mile.
“The Commission’s universal service high-cost programs have a track record of supporting
networks that connect remote communities across the country,” said Rosenworcel. “But to
keep pace with the demand for reliable broadband and meet the needs of consumers today and into the future, we need to optimize these programs to bring higher speeds and greater bandwidth to consumers.”
The Enhanced A-CAM program, if adopted, would “require that participating carriers serve all locations in their service areas at 100/20 Mbps or greater in return for an extension of the A-CAM program and an incremental increase in support for expensive-to-serve areas,” according to an FCC release. The program would be a complement to other state, local and federal funding programs, including the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program that are also focused on closing the digital divide and providing high-speed broadband access.
Rosenworcel has also proposed a rulemaking and request for public comment that would explore additional changes to legacy rate-of-return systems, as well as “methods for modifying the Universal Service Fund’s high-cost program to support ongoing expenses for broadband networks, particularly those built with capital funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other recent federal and state efforts.” Most broadband-focused programs focus on initial deployment and capital expenses related to build-out, rather than ongoing operating expenses of maintaining such networks.
