FCC Sets Comment Deadlines for Connect America Reforms

The Federal Communications Commission announced that Jan. 28 and Feb. 11 will be the comment and reply comment deadlines for its proposal to modify phase I of its Connect America Universal Service Fund reform.

In November, the FCC proposed changing the rules on its first phase of the Connect America Fund to make it more attractive to the price cap telcos it wants to build out broadband to hard-to-serve, primarily rural, areas. The FCC, which is migrating phone subsidies in the Universal Service Fund from telecom to broadband, announced in July that $115 million would be invested by companies in 37 states. But that leaves most of the money -- $185 million -- in the first round of funding unallocated.