Rural wireless trade groups are asking the FCC to consider subsidizing operational costs for rural carriers with fewer than two million subscribers. The request would be for those small carriers serving high-cost areas in which they are the only mobile wireless provider. Two providers have already asked for extra funding to avoid shutting down cell sites, and the organizations say more could follow suit, notes Broadband Breakfast.
The comments this week from the Rural Wireless Association (RWA) and Competitive Carriers Association stem from a request by Carolina West Wireless in 2024, for more Universal Service Fund support. The FCC sought public input on the request. “With its legacy high-cost support soon to be stripped away, Carolina West cannot simply hope to win support at a future auction,” the company said in its 2024 request.
“As currently proposed, 5G Fund support is intended to assist carriers in building and upgrading rural sites,” Carolina West stated. “While this is a worthy objective, there is no specific ongoing operations expense component to the fund. Even if Carolina West wins an amount of support at the 5G Fund auction sufficient to fund 1OO% of the capital cost of upgrading facilities in the region to 5G, that will not cover the continuing and ongoing operating losses at the remote cell towers that are the subject of this petition.”
The Rural Wireless Association and Competitive Carriers Association said they expected more providers to ask for extra funds to avoid shutting down cell sites. The carrier “provides a detailed and data-driven account of the financial and operational challenges Carolina West faces and evidence of the exclusive service provided by Carolina West in many areas,” said the RWA in its filing this week. Its request also explains how Carolina West operates “in some of the most challenging terrain in the country, including mountainous areas with sparse populations and areas with limited access to fiber backhaul,” RWA explains to the FCC.
“Carolina West’s documentation shows that many of its cell sites – particularly those built with universal service support – are no longer financially sustainable due to declining roaming revenues, rising operational costs, and the absence of a dedicated operations expense support mechanism for mobile carriers,” states RWA.
RWA said the FCC should view Carolina West’s requests “not only as a request for targeted relief, but as a representative case that highlights the urgent need for a broader, more sustainable support framework.”
RWA urges the agency to grant Carolina West’s requests and initiate a broader proceeding to address the funding needs of all mobile carriers with fewer than two million subscribers, where such providers serve high-cost areas where they are the only mobile wireless provider. “Ensuring the sustainability of rural wireless networks is essential to achieving the Commission’s universal service goals and protecting the connectivity of rural Americans and those traveling through rural America,” states RWA.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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