FCC to Consider More Money and Faster Speeds for A-CAM Rural Broadband

The Federal Communications Commission will vote in late May 2022 on a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) seeking input on a proposal to establish higher speed goals for small rural providers that receive broadband funding through the Alternative Connect America Model (A-CAM) program. The proposal was made by the A-CAM Broadband Coalition, a group of providers that receive funding through the program. According to the FCC, 447 providers receive a combined $1.1 billion annually in A-CAM support, which runs through 2028 for most participants. The proposal calls for A-CAM providers to deploy service at speeds of at least 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream – an increase from the minimum of 25/3 Mbps, or in some cases less, that is required today. In addition, the amount of funding per location would be increased. Rethinking the A-CAM program would seem to make sense, considering that the $42.5 billion BEAD rural broadband funding program created in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act targets unserved and underserved areas, with unserved areas defined as those lacking 25/3 Mbps service and underserved areas defined as those lacking 100/20 Mbps service.