Hughes Wants Lesser, Satellite-Centric CAF Standards, Adtran Argues

Generally lowering the Connect America Fund Phase II standards would create "second class" broadband in a disservice to the public, Adtran said in a comment posted Friday in FCC docket 10-90. Adtran's submission was the latest in a back-and-forth between it and Hughes Network Systems on CAF standards, including a filing Monday by the satellite company indicating the 100 GB per month data usage allowance could preclude satellite broadband operators from taking part (see 1507220049). A lesser allowance for satellite operators "is likely to limit the usefulness of satellite broadband for video streaming, which is the dominant use of the Internet presently," Adtran said. The company repeated its previous arguments against Hughes' proposed R-Factor score and pushed for its own proposed higher R-Factor score -- R-Factor being a measure of VoIP call quality (see 1506150019).