Rural Mobile Providers Push FCC to Alter 5G Fund Model

WASHINGTON, September 14, 2023 – Rural mobile providers are urging the Federal Communications Commission to consider an alternative to the reverse auction funding model the agency proposed for a future 5G fund.

The fund has been in limbo since 2020 due to mapping issues. It makes $9 billion available for 5G mobile broadband infrastructure in areas unlikely to be served without subsidies.

With access to newer, granular data on mobile broadband coverage in the U.S., the FCC released on August 31 a notice proposing updates to the program’s methodologies for defining areas eligible for funding and seeking comment on potential new provisions like extending support to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The proposal is slated to be discussed at the agency’s open meeting on September 21.

Ahead of that discussion, the Rural Wireless Association has met with FCC officials five times in the last month to reiterate the same concerns over the program’s reverse auction model. Under this procedure, providers would compete to develop the cheapest cost structure for serving an area with the minimum required speeds – at least 35 Mbps upload and 3 Mbps download in the case of the 5G Fund.

Rural providers are concerned because some areas served by carriers receiving support from legacy funding programs like the Mobility Fund will be eligible for auction. If those carriers lose at auction, the RWA says, the reduction in federal funds might make them unable to continue operating their infrastructure and leave other areas covered by their networks without service.

“There is no ‘safety valve’ put in place that would protect these networks built with federal dollars and maintained by legacy support mobile carriers,” the association wrote in an ex parte filing on Wednesday.

The RWA has proposed the commission seek comment on allowing these providers to opt out of the reverse auction if they are an area’s sole mobile carrier. In such a scenario, the group also wants the FCC to consider subsidizing 5G upgrades based on predicted costs.