Capito, 5 members seek dedicated broadband monies for geographically challenged states

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) requested that congressional leaders working to build a fiscal year 2019 government budget include targeted federal funds for the nation’s broadband infrastructure buildout in states considered geographically challenged.

In the final conference report, Sen. Capito and a bicameral, bipartisan group of five other lawmakers asked budget leaders in Congress to maintain U.S. Senate report language urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to think about creating a high-cost set aside within the Mobility Fund Phase II for such areas across the country.

In August 2017, the FCC approved Mobility Fund II, which will award up to $4.53 billion in universal service support over 10 years for mobile wireless carriers in unsubsidized areas that lack adequate mobile voice and broadband coverage, according to an Aug. 31 statement released by Sen. Capito’s staff.

“While we are strong supporters of this program and of recent efforts by the FCC to help stakeholders understand the challenge process and play an active role in improving the official coverage maps, we are concerned that states like ours will not see very much of this critical funding due to the program’s reverse auction format,” wrote the lawmakers in an Aug. 23 letter sent to U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee; U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee; U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), chairman of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee; and U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee.

Budget leaders in the House and Senate are conferencing on the minibus appropriations bill, H.R. 6147, which includes the FY 2019 Financial Services and General Government; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; and Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development and Related Agencies.

In their letter, Sen. Capito and her colleagues pointed out that the FCC’s upcoming auction for Mobility Fund Phase II “is structured to provide the maximum return on investment meaning that flat areas that are easy to access and where a cell signal travels further are more likely to be chosen over states like ours, which have much more rugged and difficult landscapes to navigate and build on.”

For instance, according to Sen. Capito’s statement, her home state of West Virginia would pay much more than other states to deploy broadband over the mountainous terrain. Dedicated federal funding would make West Virginia competitive with other states by substantially reducing the price to construct the same towers.

“The additional obstacle of mountainous topography adds more work and time to the buildout process and incurs an even larger price tag,” the members wrote. “With the additional effort and higher costs associated with servicing places with difficult, mountainous topography, it is clear why providers would choose to avoid broadband deployment in high cost, geographically challenged areas.

“That is exactly why a high cost set aside for geographically challenged states is critical,” they noted.

The lawmakers requested that budget leaders include the Senate provision in the final conference report to allow “states like ours” to compete on a level playing field.