O'Rielly Statement on Rural Digital Opportunity Fund

While there is a long road ahead, especially in terms of finalizing auction procedures, this Report and Order makes considerable progress in the effort to bring broadband to unserved Americans. And, to make clear at the outset, by limiting Phase I eligibility to those census blocks that have no broadband whatsoever and targeting those consumers truly deserving of FCC assistance, our action should not in any way trigger or exacerbate the rightful concerns raised over our broadband mapping procedures. This item also attempts to correct errors of the past, including the decision to offer price cap carriers a right of first refusal to $9 billion in Connect America Fund Phase II funding. That policy resulted in tremendously poor incentives for funding recipients and left millions of rural Americans without service. It is also no secret that I would have preferred to implement the Remote Areas Fund (RAF) auction at the outset. After all, it is easier to serve the less challenging areas once the more challenging areas have service, than vice versa. Since we can’t reverse the past, I am encouraged that the RDOF may very well bring service to those locations that otherwise would have comprised the RAF.

I applaud the Chairman for rejecting demands from certain self-serving politicians to use RDOF funds to overbuild areas in the New NY Broadband Program, as well as other areas in New York subject to enforceable deployment obligations. While I never quite loved the decision to undermine inter-area competition in the CAF II auction by reserving special funding for New York, backtracking on our previous agreement and including funded areas in Phase I would have been beyond foolish and incredibly wasteful, and undermined longstanding FCC policy against awarding duplicative support in areas already served by an existing provider.