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04/13/2017

FCC’s Pai called upon by 56 senators to speed up rural broadband deployment

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has been asked by a bipartisan group of 56 senators in a letter (PDF) to continue working to advance broadband deployment in hard-to-serve rural areas.

Led by Senators Deb Fischer, R–Neb., and Amy Klobuchar, D–Minn., the letter asked the FCC to ensure the Universal Service Fund (USF) High-Cost program “can achieve the goal of making affordable broadband available to Americans in high-cost rural areas.”

RELATED: Senators take FCC’s Pai to task on recent Lifeline broadband move

Congress has been an ardent supporter of reforming the USF program, with an eye on enabling rural service providers to build out broadband infrastructure in areas that serve a smaller amount of consumers and businesses.

“We encourage you to consider any changes to the High-Cost mechanism that may be necessary to ensure it can achieve the goal of making affordable broadband available to Americans in high-cost rural areas,” the letter read.

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