[1st-mile-nm] FW: FCC Scheduled to Act - New Rural Broadband Test Bed

Tue Jan 14 11:43:38 PST 2014

FYI—This may be a good opportunity for rural NM telecom.
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From: FTTH Council Americas <ftthinfo at ftthcouncil.org<mailto:ftthinfo at ftthcouncil.org>>
Date: Tue, Jan 14, 2014 at 12:50 PM
Subject: FCC Scheduled to Act - New Rural Broadband Test Bed
To:

[FTTH Council logo]

A Special Message from the FTTH Council Americas President

Federal Communications Commission Scheduled to Act on New Rural Broadband Test Bed Based on

FTTH Council's Gigabit Race to the Top Petition

<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qDfY1IywRMfS_CeSy4jYvOs98vD_dRDqOghYZm5agI309k0xI8GOya6W8pU5O6rzN1996hDlsN8H9D4bbqlzbgaY-EVTOj3cFNCeO5Jl7vZPEXPaqU4fdw==>[Heather Gold photo]<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qDfY1IywRMfS_CeSy4jYvOs98vD_dRDqOghYZm5agI309k0xI8GOya6W8pU5O6rzN1996hDlsN8H9D4bbqlzbgaY-EVTOj3cFNCeO5Jl7vZPEXPaqU4fdw==><http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qDfY1IywRMfS_CeSy4jYvOs98vD_dRDqOghYZm5agI309k0xI8GOya6W8pU5O6rzN1996hDlsN8H9D4bbqlzbgaY-EVTOj3cFNCeO5Jl7vZPEXPaqU4fdw==>

Six months ago the FTTH Council asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to fund experiments in rural locations where entities would compete to build FTTH networks.  As part of our proposal, all kinds of providers -- telcos, utilities, small cable operators and even communities themselves -- would be eligible to deploy FTTH to serve community anchor institutions and other customers.

Now, the FCC appears poised to act.  On January 30th, we expect the Commission to use our petition to adopt a new "test bed" program to bring next-generation high-speed broadband to rural areas.  Right now, here's how we believe the program will work.  First, the Commission will issue a call for "expressions of interest."  Any potential operator can submit a letter indicating its interest in undertaking a project.  The letter would specify the technology, the proposed bandwidth to be delivered and the services to be provided, as well as the estimated budget for the request.  We expect that many of you will want to indicate an interest in, apply for and ultimately use these funds.  The Commission expects this first step to will happen relatively quickly.  So, you should get prepared.

Based on the letters of interest, the FCC will formulate a budget, using funds in the USF Broadband Reserve Fund.  We estimate the total amount available for these projects will be approximately $200M.  Once the budget is set, interested parties will file applications with detailed business cases.  The applications will be reviewed and scored according to pre-set criteria and grants awarded.  The Commission expects this process to take months, not years.  The FCC is committed to begin distributing funds later this year.

The long-term purpose of these experiments is to determine what business cases work to bring ultra-high broadband to rural areas efficiently and to use this information to set the future direction of the Connect America Fund.

We urge you to consider participating in this new program, either by filing a letter of interest directly or working with your customers. We have an opportunity to show that we are really coming to a tipping point of interest in FTTH and a little push will start the avalanche.  We will hold a webinar on the FCC's proposal early in February to provide you with more information.  Stay tuned and get ready!

[http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs150/1111215209432/img/76.jpg]

Heather Burnett Gold

President

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