Following Calls from Sen. Moran and Colleagues, FCC Supports Mobility Fund Challenge Process Extension

Statement

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) -- member of the Senate Commerce Committee -- today commended Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai for his support of a 90-day extension to the challenge process for the map of eligible areas for Mobility Fund Phase II support. The FCC's presumptive eligibility map will help determine up to $4.53 billion in support for rural wireless broadband expansion over the next 10 years.

"Reliable access to broadband is important to growing a business, strengthening a community or bringing an idea to market for Kansans, which is why it is imperative that the eligibility map for Mobility Fund Phase II support accurately reflects the areas in most need of these mobile services," said Sen. Moran. "We must make certain we are prioritizing broadband expansion to rural and unserved areas based off of reliable mapping information. I appreciate Chairman Pai taking seriously our concerns about the Mobility Fund Phase II challenge process, and I look forward to continuing our work to close the digital divide."

"Extending the Mobility Fund Phase II presumptive eligibility challenge process by 90 days will give Kansas residents more opportunities to provide necessary data to the FCC," said Kansas Farm Bureau President Rich Felts. "An extension means we are able to better represent the need for reliable, fast cell phone coverage in rural areas of the state. We thank FCC Chairman Pai and Senator Moran for their commitment to the challenge process."

"We thank Senators Moran and Roberts for joining the bipartisan group of Senators urging a closer look at the FCC's map of areas eligible for Mobility Fund Phase II support," said Nex-Tech Wireless President and CEO Jon Lightle. "We proudly serve a rural part of Kansas and are passionate that our neighbors have access to the latest mobile broadband services. It is critical to get the map right before auctioning off billions of dollars in support to make sure Kansas is not left behind, and I appreciate Chairman Pai's commitment to fixing the underlying data."

The chairman's announcement of support for the 90-day extension came in response to legislation and a letter led by Sens. Moran, Wicker (R-Miss.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H). The senators are concerned that there are significant flaws in the current map, which purportedly shows areas that are served by 4G LTE service based on initial data collections.

Areas that are unserved by 4G LTE would be eligible for up to $4.53 billion in support for wireless broadband expansion. The map shows many areas of the senators' states to be covered, when on-the-ground experience suggests otherwise. The senators planned for the 90-day change to allow additional outreach to stakeholders and give challengers more time to assemble the necessary data to challenge the eligibility map in their area.

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