Rural Groups Seeks CAF II Auction Rules That 'Future Proof' Networks

Rural interests called for Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II reverse auction rules that "promote smart investment in high-speed networks that are future proof, scalable, and will be able to withstand the ever increasing" FCC definitions of broadband service. "We urge the Commission to ensure that our rural citizens benefit from best available technologies with scalability for the long term in the reverse auction -- not simply the network that is cheapest to deploy initially," three dozen rural-oriented groups said in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 10-90 by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. The auction should help ensure rural broadband services are reasonably comparable to those found in urban areas, and don't fund technologies that could become obsolete before long. "We are concerned that if the Commission structures the reverse auction so that short-term deployment cost is the primary consideration as compared to better measures of efficiency for consumers and over the lives of the funded networks, it would unfairly give preference to lower-capacity, less robust networks and effectively prevent the deployment of networks comparable to those deployed in urban areas," said the groups, which recognized the need for fiscal responsibility.