WB Extends RHC Rates Database Waiver for Alaska Providers

The FCC Wireline Bureau extended its waiver of rural healthcare telecom program rules requiring providers to use the rates database to calculate urban and rural rates for support in Alaska during FY 2023, said an order Tuesday in docket 17-130. The bureau cited "inconsistencies in the rates database and potential significant reductions in levels of support combined with Alaska's uniquely challenging geography." Commissioners approved a Further NPRM in February seeking comments on potential changes to the rates determination rules (see 2202180054).