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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said they want to better understand the changes that have occurred in Alaska since 2016.
The FCC has voted to kickoff a rulemaking process that will explore how a high-cost support program can continue funding fixed and mobile broadband services in Alaska.
A release from the FCC called Alaska “one of the hardest to serve areas in the country” and said the challenges in the state, namely Alaska’s rugged terrain and cold climate, demanded an innovative funding approach.
The FCC’s recent Oct. 19 vote to open up a comment period will help the commission “determine the most effective methodologies and uses for future universal service funding for high-cost fixed and mobile services in Alaska,” according to a statement from the FCC.
In 2016, the FCC adopted the “Alaska Plan Order,” which froze $1.5 billion in funding for a decade and allocated money to maintain, extend, and upgrade broadband service across certain areas of Alaska.
“Ultimately, fifteen rate-of-return carriers and eight of their wireless affiliates elected the plan,” according to the FCC’s webpage dedicated to the Alaska Plan.
The FCC hopes to leverage new data from the agency’s improved coverage map, the agency stated. Carriers participating in the Alaska Plan have been required to submit data for annually updated maps, which includes information relevant to fiber network maps ‘middle-mile’ networks, according to the FCC’s website.
As part of the comment period about the Alaska Plan, the FCC said they want to “better understand the changes, including technology and the broadband funding landscape, that have occurred in Alaska since 2016.”
Along with the opening of the comment period, a new report and order from the FCC also made several administrative changes to the Alaska Plan that included “rules to improve the administration of the high-cost program.”
Among other changes, the FCC said the recent order will alter provider annual reporting and certification obligations and processes governing mergers between rate-of-return local exchange carriers, the FCC’s statement said.
