Windstream CEO: Industry Should Not Repeat Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Mess, USF Reform Needed

Windstream CEO Tony Thomas revealed he’s no fan of the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program implementation and he is among many now calling for USF reform. “It was a mess, why was it a mess?” said Thomas. “There’s lessons hear that we should learn.” Thomas says the auction didn’t properly vet bidders at the beginning of the process, as the FCC does with wireless spectrum auctions. Rather for RDOF, Thomas says all of the vetting of bidders is scheduled to take place at the end of the process, when it will be too late to do anything about unqualified bidders. Thomas says future RDOF type auctions should follow the process of spectrum auctions, where bidders are required to put a deposit down that equates to the investment they’re willing to make prior to the actual auction. Thomas is also calling for USF reform to help fix the affordability problem with broadband. He said that the FCC's Emergency Broadband Benefit Program that was created during the pandemic to help subscribers pay for internet service should be enacted permanently and maybe become a part of the USF program. In order to fund programs like that within USF, Thomas joined a growing chorus of industry insiders calling for the contribution base of USF to be expanded to edge providers like Netflix, Google, and Facebook. Thomas believes the momentum is here now for this reform, citing the recently introduced FAIR Act.