FCC Approves $9B 5G Fund With Carr Dissent

The FCC approved an order establishing a multi-round reverse auction to pay out up to $9 billion to bring voice and 5G mobile broadband service to rural areas of the U.S. otherwise unlikely to see 5G. The vote was 4-1, with a dissent by Commissioner Brendan Carr. The commission plans a public notice to announce the start date of the auction. It also released a Further NPRM on related tribal issues.

The program relies on mobile coverage data from the agency's broadband data collection program, including the FCC’s mobile speed test app, the FCC said.

“With the progress we’ve made in mapping broadband service availability, there is no reason to wait to put the 5G Fund to work connecting households and businesses in rural communities across the country,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

Rosenworcel proposed the fund in March (see 2403200071). Commissioners initially approved a $9 billion fund in 2020, over partial dissents by Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks (see 2010230056).

“As a threshold matter, I cannot support today’s decision because it puts the cart before the horse,” Carr said: “Unlike our 2020 decision, which aligned with [rural digital opportunities fund] funding decisions, the Commission is moving forward today before the results of the Administration’s $42 billion [broadband equity, access and deployment] program are known.”