Adtran Sees Need for Some 'Satellite-Specific' CAF Standards

The Connect America Fund Phase II buildout might require "satellite-specific standards" for high-cost areas, Adtran said in an ex parte presentation filed Monday in docket 10-90. The broadband equipment maker has been jousting with Hughes Network Systems over Hughes-proposed CAF standards that Adtran said could result in "second class" broadband (see 1507240016). Adtran Counsel Stephen Goodman, in a phone call with Wireline Bureau representatives, said the company opposes any "across-the-board relaxation" of technical standards, but it also sees the possibility of varying standards for certain areas covered by the Remote Area Fund.