Commissioner Starks Remarks to the Fiber Broadband Association

Commissioner Starks offered a four-point plan to make FCC support for expanding rural broadband more effective: 1) funding rural broadband with accurate and actionable maps and data; 2) advancing more affordable internet connections; 3) incentivizing futureproof connections; and 4) investing in responsible auction winners.

1. We can no longer have good money chasing after bad data. We need to make sure that our precious universal service dollars make it to the communities and people that need them the most. The FCC is going to have to become stricter and more proactive when it comes to collecting deployment data.
2. If we use our finite funds to build out broadband infrastructure without any regard given to whether people can afford the service once it arrives, we have not done the job assigned us by Congress.
3. I’ve called for the FCC to conduct a data-driven 10-year look-back on how the FCC’s High Cost Program has effectively performed in bringing broadband to our unserved areas.
4. Before we send additional dollars out the door, we need to be absolutely sure that all carriers who receive funding are seaworthy and capable of meeting our buildout requirements to deliver connectivity to communities that are in need.