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<!--StartFragment--><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><i>This is not just a rural matter, as in NM's capitol city and other populated centers, there are neighborhoods max'd at 1.5Mb down/.5Mb up DSL. RL</i></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><i>---------</i></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-font-kerning:18.0pt"><br></span></b></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-font-kerning:18.0pt">CenturyLink
+ Windstream say FCC's CAF-II timeline is too restrictive<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt">December 15, 2014 |
By </span><a href="http://www.fiercetelecom.com/author/sbuckley"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt">Sean Buckley</span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><a href="http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/centurylink-windstream-say-fccs-caf-ii-timeline-too-restrictive/2014-12-15">http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/centurylink-windstream-say-fccs-caf-ii-timeline-too-restrictive/2014-12-15</a></span></p><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">CenturyLink and Windstream are prime
candidates for FCC's Connect America Fund Phase II (CAF-II) since both telcos
serve a large swatch of Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, but both telcos are
concerned that the timeline to meet the 10/1 Mbps requirement is not realistic.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The FCC ruled last week that service
providers that want to take advantage of CAF funding will have to deliver
broadband speeds of at least 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. By
increasing the requirement from 4/1 Mbps, the regulator said that it will be
able to make certain that rural consumers get the same broadband speeds that 99
percent of urban Americans receive.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Steve Davis, executive vice president
for Public Policy and Government Relations for CenturyLink, said in a statement
that while the CAF-II program will enable it to bring broadband service to more
rural customers that don't have any service today, the "effect of the
program will be smaller than originally anticipated." </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">"In particular, we're disappointed
that after taking more than three years to write this order, the FCC has
adopted such a restrictive timeline for the build-out to high-cost areas that
we will not be able to build facilities to many of our rural customers,"
Davis said. "This means that customers in many of the areas that are most
difficult to reach will have to wait until the FCC adopts workable auction
rules before learning whether or not they will be eligible to receive broadband
service."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Windstream expressed a similar concern
in a filing, saying that in order to meet the 10/1 Mbps requirement, it would
also need a longer buildout and support term. The service provider suggested to
the FCC that it allow service providers an additional year to conduct buildouts
under the CAF-II program.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">"Providing 10/1 Mbps service in
high-cost areas will require a massive extension of fiber, new remote terminal
equipment, and reconfiguration of existing copper," Windstream wrote in a
letter to the FCC. "Windstream would have to nearly triple its network
deployment to meet even a six-year build-out requirement. Moreover, increasing
build-out capacity is not simply a matter of increased manpower, but includes
various factors beyond Windstream's control, such as supply of fiber and
network equipment, a limited number of qualified third-party vendors, rights of
way issues, and the cooperation of electric companies."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Already, Windstream is extending
service to nearly 110,000 new homes and upgrading about 100,000 existing lines
to support broadband through Round Two of the Rural Utilities Service's
Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and Round Two of CAF Phase I.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The service provider pointed out that
BIP had a three-year deadline that has been extended for nearly two additional
years because"[w]eather, seasonal conditions, and project volumes have
posed challenges for ... suppliers of goods and services and awardees."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Windstream said that in CAF-II, the
service provider will have to extend broadband service to nearly 420,000
locations--twice as many that it addressed with BIP and CAF-I--and several
locations are in higher cost areas than what was in the previous programs.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">During the CAF II program, the service
provider will face an additional challenge of fighting to get access to vendor
equipment and contractor resources.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">"In CAF Phase II, Windstream will
be required to provide broadband service to approximately 420,000
locations--twice as many as will be addressed with BIP and CAF Phase I, and
many of which are higher-cost than the BIP and CAF Phase I locations,"
Windstream wrote. "Moreover, the CAF Phase II program as a whole is
supporting the provision of broadband service to more than 4.2 million
locations, and Windstream will be competing with other providers for a limited
quantity of third-party vendors and contractors."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">For more:<br>
- see </span><a href="http://community.centurylink.com/regulatoryblog/2014/12/connect-america-fund-phase-ii-order/"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">CenturyLink's
statement</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><br>
- here's </span><a href="http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=60000989425"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Windstream's
filing</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Related articles:</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/fcc-sets-10-mbps-new-rural-broadband-starting-point/2014-12-12">FCC
sets 10 Mbps as new rural broadband starting point</a><br>
<a href="http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/centurylink-frontier-say-caf-ii-should-support-101-mbps-all-high-cost-areas/2014-10-14">CenturyLink,
Frontier say CAF-II should support 10/1 Mbps in all high-cost areas</a></p></div><br><div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div>---------------------------------------------------------</div><div>Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director</div><div>1st-Mile Institute <a href="http://www.1st-mile.org">www.1st-mile.org</a> </div><div>P. O. Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504</div><div>505-603-5200 <a href="mailto:rl@1st-mile.org">rl@1st-mile.org</a></div><div>---------------------------------------------------------</div></div><div><br></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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