CCA's Berry Sees Rip and Replace, 5G Funding as Unfinished Business

Steve Berry, who is leaving the Competitive Carriers Association at the end of the year (see 2209130072) after 13 years as president, told reporters a top priority for the rest of the year is getting Congress to fully fund the rip and replace program needed to remove Chinese gear from small carrier networks (see 2209090053). The program faces a $3.08 billion shortfall. “We need to get that done, we need to secure our networks,” he said: “It was a decision made by Congress. Now we’ve got to make sure that they actually pay for it.”

CCA is also focused on getting the FCC to convert the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund into a 5G fund, Berry said. “If there’s not a wireless network, your phone doesn’t work” most places, he said. “The job has not been done” to build mobile networks across the U.S., he said. “Just saying, ‘I want broadband,’ doesn’t cut it,” he said. “USF needs to be a 5G USF,” he said. Berry and Tim Donovan, CCA senior vice president-legislative affairs, spoke to reporters Tuesday, embargoed until Wednesday.

Small carriers will pursue broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program funding, despite the administration’s focus on fiber, Berry said. “You’d be a fool not to find access to some of the monies that are being available,” he said, noting there are programs beyond just BEAD. Consumers don’t need “fiber all places, all the time,” he said. The Department of Agriculture requires speeds of 100 Mbps, he said: “That’s not mobile. That’s not what most farmers think they need.” Barry noted that many CCA members offer a diverse lineup of services.

“There’s a lot of interest among members -- BEAD rules are out from NTIA … and now we’re looking at our members’ engagement with the states,” said Donovan, who will replace Berry as president. “The states know what services they’re going to need to make sure that you can deliver on the goal of connectivity for all,” he said. NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson has said he expects to fund “a lot of non-fiber technology,” which in many cases means fixed wireless, Donovan said. Fixed wireless is “a really exciting opportunity for our members,” he said.

Berry said a lot of spectrum is still available in rural areas. “The more capacity you wish, the more speed you want, the more spectrum you’re going to have to utilize,” Berry said: “A lot of our members are just figuring out how to aggregate their spectrum holdings” to offer 5G “and a ubiquitous IoT capability.” While carriers may have enough spectrum for 5G “you have no idea what is going to be next, which means you’re sort of flying blind,” he said.

The 2.5 GHz auction “was very successful for CCA members” with 25 smaller CCA members winning 716 licenses, Donovan said. T-Mobile, a CCA member, dominated the auction (see 2209010060). “We do need more spectrum,” he said.

Berry said his biggest achievement as president was “bringing an organization from an excuse for a golf event to an actual advocacy capability.” CCA “brought the small carriers, regional carriers together and [we] were successful in creating an advocacy effort that was pro-competition,” he said. “We punch above our weight limit,” he said. Wireless is competitive in most areas from a consumer perspective, Berry said.

“Are we competitive in all areas?” Berry asked: “We have a lot to do there. We’re falling a little short on the ability to provide three carriers or more in every market. It’s more and more difficult for a small, regional carrier to get from 3G to 4G, 4G LTE to a 5G capability.” Small carriers are still trying to figure out how they can make money from the IoT, Berry said. “I keep saying it’s a river of pennies, and we’re going to figure out how to trim the river of pennies to, hopefully, dollars for our members,” he said.