FCC Increases Rural Broadband Speeds Under Connect America Fund

Broadband for rural consumers that is supported by the Connect America Fund must deliver the same speeds that 99 percent of urban Americans enjoy, the Federal Communications Commission said in a recently adopted Order. The FCC will now require companies receiving Connect America funding for fixed broadband to serve consumers with speeds of at least 10 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads. The Order makes a number of adjustments to 2011 reforms to accommodate the higher speed requirement and better target Connect America funds to efficiently expand broadband into rural areas that would not otherwise be served.

These changes include:

• Increasing the terms of support for price cap carriers from five years to six years, with an option for a seventh year in certain circumstances
• Providing increased flexibility in the build-out requirement, while still ensuring that support recipients are reaching out to Americans that were previously unserved
• Forbearing from certain universal service obligations in low-cost census blocks where price cap carriers are not eligible to receive Connect America support, as well as census blocks where the carriers face competition
• Requiring recipients that decline Connect America support in a state to continue to deliver voice service to high-cost census blocks until replaced through a competitive bidding process by another subsidized carrier that is required to deliver voice and 10/1 broadband.

The Order also makes changes that will distribute traditional universal service support for small carriers more equitably and curb waste. Finally, the Order helps ensure that carriers adhere to voice and broadband service obligations by setting clear consequences for failing to meet these standards.