RWA 'Very Disappointed' in Parts of FCC's 5G Fund Order

The Rural Wireless Association expressed disappointment after the FCC released an order Thursday launching a multi-round reverse auction that will pay up to $9 billion to bring voice and 5G mobile broadband service to rural areas of the U.S. otherwise unlikely to see 5G deployments (see 2408290022). The Competitive Carriers Association also expressed concerns.

Commissioners rejected arguments that the agency should wait for additional clarity on what the broadband equity, access and deployment will support before holding a 5G auction. Commissioner Brendan Carr dissented, raising BEAD concerns.

RWA is “very disappointed” that the commission “decided to determine area eligibility based on outdoor stationary coverage rather than in-vehicle coverage, which more accurately depicts 5G mobility coverage across the country,” it said in a statement. The organization is “extremely concerned” that the FCC is allowing “T-Mobile, and potentially other carriers, to remove otherwise eligible areas from the inventory of areas eligible for auction in return for a pre-auction commitment to deploy 5G in those areas.”

In addition, RWA questioned whether the three national carriers should be eligible for the 5G Fund auction.

CCA had concerns with the order “particularly related to its eligibility parameters, the readiness and adequacy of mobile broadband maps, and the failure to leverage BEAD to make the 5G Fund go farther,” said President Tim Donovan. “The 5G Fund and USF support to preserve towers that rely on it are extremely important to many CCA members and their customers, and we are worried that, as is, the 5G Fund could ultimately leave the country worse off in terms of 5G connectivity.”

Wireless industry groups, including CTIA, the Competitive Carriers Association and RWA, had urged the FCC to wait for BEAD clarity (see 2403260052).

“Although we are not persuaded that we should delay the 5G Fund Phase I auction until after BEAD support has been awarded … we will nonetheless assess eligible area determinations to ensure that 5G Fund support does not duplicate BEAD funding efforts,” the order said.

“The 5G Fund will support the deployment of advanced mobile broadband by requiring that support recipients deploy 5G-[new radio] service at speeds of at least 35/3 Mbps,” the order said: “The 5G Fund and the BEAD Program … clearly serve very different purposes.” Since this is a reverse auction, it doesn’t fall under the FCC’s auction authority, which lapsed last year, which means an auction can occur regardless of whether Congress restores auction authority (see 2403260052).

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposed the fund in March, but didn’t release a draft since it wasn’t scheduled for a vote at a commissioners' meeting (see 2403200071).

“It is never wise to build on top of a faulty foundation” and “the government’s focus today should be on fixing the fundamental flaws with BEAD and getting that program back on track,” Carr said in a statement. “Moving ahead now with the 5G Fund, without knowing the results of BEAD, will lead to the same types of problems that have plagued the Biden-Harris Administration’s other broadband funding initiatives: more overbuilding, more duplication, and less efficient use of taxpayer dollars.”

Carr noted that BEAD deployments won’t start before next year. “Although BEAD subsidizes fixed broadband, it offers promising synergies and potential overlap with the 5G Fund,” he said.

Commissioners initially approved a proposed $9 billion fund in 2020, over partial dissents by Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, who were concerned with the lack of reliable broadband maps at the time (see 2010230056).

“Today we choose action,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. The FCC is moving forward now “because for the first time we have comprehensive data about the state of wireless service across the country,” she said: “To put a finer point on it, we now know exactly where there are mobile dead zones.”

Among the changes from the earlier order, the FCC increased the budget for Phase I from $8 billion to $9 billion, revised the definition of areas eligible for support in Phase I to include parts of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and modified the metric for accepting and identifying winning bids. The order now encourages investments in 5G open radio access network technologies, providing up to $900 million for that purpose. The updated rules also require 5G Fund recipients to implement cybersecurity and supply chain risk management plans.

A Further NPRM asks about possible requirements for tribal sign off on 5G projects: “We tentatively conclude that adopting a Tribal consent requirement in our 5G Fund rules is consistent with our long-standing recognition that engagement between Tribal governments and communications providers, particularly early engagement, is an important element to promote the successful deployment and provision of service on Tribal lands.”

“We make critical decisions in this order that are informed by active engagement with a range of stakeholders” including “consumer advocates, nationwide wireless providers, and many smaller wireless providers that are serving rural America today,” said Commissioner Anna Gomez. While BEAD will support fiber deployments, “the reality” is “we cannot wait until every dollar is awarded to start moving this parallel effort forward.”

Starks said the item was changed at his request to address tribal engagement issues. “Thinking critically on how we engage with Tribes is foundational,” he said.

The Wireless Infrastructure Association “appreciates the FCC’s recognition that the BEAD program will enable 5G deployment and the importance of the interplay between the two programs,” said President Patrick Halley.