Chairman Pai's Response to Member of Congress Regarding Mobility Fund Phase II

On Jan 9, 2020, Sens Joe Manchin (D-WV), James Lankford (R-OK), Jon Tester (D-MT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and John Kennedy (R-LA) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to express reservations about the 5G Fund and the decision to focus limited mobile broadband deployment dollars on the promise of a 5G future when many places still lack 4G service or do not have any service at all. "[T]he FCC needs a more accurate method of data collection, a strong challenge process, and a funding process that includes terrain factors to ensure that the hardest to serve places can compete for limited funding," the senators wrote. 

On March 6, Chairman Pai responded by saying the 5G Fund would set aside at least $1 billion specifically for deployments to support precision agriculture needs. Chairman Pai said the FCC will consider the distinct challenges of deploying 5G in rural areas when proposing performance requirements and that he will propose including an adjustment factor in the 5G Fund to address the increases costs of deploying 5G services in more rugged areas. Regarding broadband mapping, Chairman Pai said in 2019 the FCC adopted the Digital Opportunity Data Collection, which will result in the FCC collecting mobile data subject to specific parameters and provide an opportunity for feedback from stakeholders. He said he expects the FCC will seek comment on how to incorporate the coverage data available into the 5G Fund.