FCC Releases Illustrative Results for Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) released illustrative results for the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced A-CAM) (v2.6.0) program recently adopted by the FCC. These results utilize three different combinations of per-location funding caps for unserved locations and funding percentages for locations already deployed by the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC). These results are based on Version 2 of the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric and incorporate currently served locations from Version 2 of the Broadband Data Collection. In addition, each of the three combinations is calculated in two ways: one set of estimates excludes locations subject to federal funding commitments currently included in the National Broadband Funding Map (even if those locations will not ultimately be excluded from Enhanced A-CAM offers because they are not receiving a federal subsidy that would require deconfliction) and one set does not. The purpose of these illustrative results is to make interested parties aware of the potential impact on support for various Enhanced A-CAM support parameters and to permit carriers to understand the relationship between current location and coverage data and the support calculations. Information regarding the data sources and funding calculations used to produce these illustrative results can be found at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-395739A1.pdf.