Capito says FCC must consider topography in allocating rural broadband expansion funds

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should consider unique topography in setting aside Mobility Fund Phase II monies to expand rural broadband in difficult-to-serve locations like West Virginia, said U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).

“In parts of the country where topography makes deploying and maintaining broadband networks a significant challenge, standalone support will help bring enormous economic benefits for rural consumers,” wrote Sen. Capito in a May 17 letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, urging that he set aside funds when wireless broadband auction procedures are released later this year.

The second phase of the FCC’s Mobility Fund (MF-II) is $4.53 billion in support over the next 10 years, according to the senator’s letter. “Because this is a 10-year program, I want to assure that locations that are currently eligible and locations that may become eligible through the challenge process are adequately funded by a formula adopted by the Commission that takes topography into consideration,” she wrote.

West Virginia, which has one of the highest rates (38 percent) of eligible Mobility Fund Phase-II areas in the country, requires both public and private investment to cover the costs associated with deploying wireless broadband services statewide. Sen. Capito acknowledged that such deployment in mountainous-versus-flat areas is costlier and more time-consuming for providers because they have to install more towers to ensure communities can access service.

So if topography isn’t a consideration, Sen. Capito wrote, then harder-to-reach areas of the country could be left out by mobile wireless providers that would “naturally gravitate toward locations where it’s more economically viable to serve.”

“I am committed to ensuring that rural, mountainous states like West Virginia do not fall further behind and that less expensive networks over flatter terrain are not prioritized over another because of topography,” Sen. Capito wrote in her letter.

Sen. Capito, a member of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, also discussed the Mobility Fund Phase II challenge process at a May 18 meeting with Michael Janson, the FCC’s deputy director of the Rural Broadband Auctions Taskforce, being held at BridgeValley Community and Technical College in South Charleston, W. Va.

“Our strong relationship is important in my efforts to close the digital divide in West Virginia, and I am thrilled to welcome the FCC back to the Mountain State,” said Capito on May 17, adding that she looked forward to discussing with Janson how to better connect to the internet those areas of her home state challenged by the mountainous geography.

“This is something Chairman Pai has experienced firsthand during his visits with me to West Virginia, and we are both committed to ensuring that West Virginia does not fall behind when it comes to connectivity,” the senator added.

Both her letter to FCC Chairman Pai and the discussion with an FCC official in her home state are “a step toward bridging the digital divide that exists in our state,” she noted.