While many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that received Connect America Fund (CAF) money have used it properly, diligently building out to rural homes and businesses, others have taken taxpayer dollars but failed to fulfill their obligations to their consumers, says Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA). That’s why he introduced the CAF Accountability Act, to ensure that recipients that provide fixed wireline internet service are, in fact, meeting the speed requirements outlined in FCC regulations.
CAF was designed to subsidize network deployments in unserved rural areas, which have often been overlooked due to the high expense of building infrastructure for rural areas.
CAF recipients are required to provide speeds of at least 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream to consumers in CAF service areas.
In Northeast Georgia – a rural district serviced largely by CAF recipients – the speeds reported by consumers, “are consistently abysmal, sometimes not even reaching 3 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream,” says Collins.
Collins says H.R. 427 would ensure CAF recipients are reporting the speeds they are actually providing consumers – “not those that are the product of gamed performance testing software, unrepresentative sampling, or repeat testing locations.” Accurately reported speeds will provide the FCC with the knowledge they need to accurately disperse CAF funds and exercise oversight over those resources in the future, according to the lawmaker. Comments? Email Us.
January 22, 2019
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