Commissioner Starks Proposes Data-Driven 10 Year Look-Back of High Cost Program

Thank you to the Broadband Communities team for organizing a great event and inviting me here today to discuss an issue that I care so deeply about which is getting high-speed, affordable broadband to every person across this country. I really wish I could have made it here yesterday as well because I know Jon Sallet at the Benton Foundation gave a stellar presentation on his new work, “Broadband for America’s Future: A Vision for the 2020s.” The National Broadband Plan was released in 2010 so I’m glad to see we have an advocate in this space who is thinking about creative and forward-thinking policies that will address internet inequality. Jon and I share similar views. We recognize that broadband access is necessary if we truly want to empower our communities in this digital age. So, thank you to Jon and the Benton Foundation team for all of their hard work on this project. I really look forward to diving into it and engaging with you all more. 

We need to better understand how our High-Cost Program/Connect America Fund has historically performed so that we can better tailor the performance of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund for the next 10 years. Sometimes you have to look back to understand how best to move forward. That’s why I’m calling for the FCC to conduct a data driven 10-year look-back on how our program has effectively performed in bringing broadband to our remote areas. Where have we succeeded? Where did we miss? Under our programming, which communities have had their connectivity needs met in the way that we expected? Which haven’t, and why? Or are there areas where we in fact already provided High-Cost/CAF funding but they’re still behind in their connectivity needs, and if so, why? I want to be crystal clear, this study is not at all an attempt to undermine this program or change it in some fundamental way. I want to understand where we have been most successful so that we can improve this program.