Chairman Pai's Response to Members of Congress Regarding the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund

In the last few weeks of January 2020, several lawmakers from New York wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai over concerns about a recent decision to "make all of New York State ineligible for Phase I Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) awards." On Jan 30, 2020, Chairman Pai responded by stating that the draft report and order, particularly the RDOF's Phase I awards, "contained some overly broadband language on that issue. I am pleased to inform you that this language will be removed from the item, and that the areas in New York eligible for Phase I of the program will be determined by the same neutral principles applicable to other states." He continued, "While this of course does not guarantee that any particular area will be eligible for support, it ensures that the Commission's eligibility criteria are applied evenly across the country."