Rural Broadband Group Seeks CAF BLS Revisions

The Southeastern Rural Broadband Alliance asked the FCC to reform the Connect America Fund-Broadband Loop Support. The group backed proposals that would give CAF BLS recipients the option to commit to 100% deployment at 100/20 Mbps in exchange for a five-year waiver of the budget control mechanism, per an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 10-90 (see 2210280060). "Under this approach, carriers would be permitted to use alternative technologies to reach the most expensive locations above a certain threshold," the group told Wireline Bureau staff. It also asked the FCC to permanently update the high cost support budget "to its current level" instead of evaluating the budget control mechanism waivers on an annual basis.