NRTC Comments to FCC: Wireless and Satellite for Rural America
April 2, 2009--The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission on March 25, 2009, in response to the “Report on a Comprehensive Rural Broadband Strategy,” a section of the 2008 Farm Bill. The 2008 Farm Bill requires the Commission to develop a “comprehensive rural broadband strategy” and submit a report to Congress by May 22, 2009. Comments like those filed by NRTC are to provide the public record basis for the May 22 report. In its comments, NRTC claimed that universal access to broadband service is achievable through a combination of wireless broadband service based on WiMAX technology and satellite broadband for the most remote areas.
“WiMAX is a least-cost, readily deployable technology that also offers great potential for mobility as well as fixed service,” NRTC said. “Satellite broadband, with its ubiquitous coverage, reaches remote areas in the most cost-effective manner available. It is the only technology today that can provide reasonable broadband service to virtually every home and business in the United States.”
Read a summary of NRTC's comments here.
NRTC offered several policy recommendations: that all rural counties be presumed to be “unserved” or “underserved” and thus eligible for NTIA/RUS funding; that preference for funding should go to technologies that have established track records for deploying quickly; that the grant agencies – especially RUS – should minimize red-tape barriers that stall or slow down application processing; that NTIA/RUS awards should not be delayed while the government develops a broadband inventory map; and that the agencies should not set speeds at a “gold standard” level that would result in higher costs and delayed deployment.