The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau this week released an order saying Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support (CAF-BLS) projects reaching 95% of required locations with 25 Mbps upload and 3 Mbps download capacity are considered to have satisfied the “all locations” requirement.
“This allowance of a 5% variation provides equitable considerations to carriers who were not aware the NBM would be used to validate their certifications until after the expiration of the final milestone deadline. It also takes into consideration changes to locations on the Fabric since it was first made available to carriers in June 2022,” the FCC order reads.
Gauging the percentage served will be done according to the National Broadband Map and the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric.
The bureau also deferred the beginning of the next five-year deployment term to January 1, 2026.
The order was issued just before Brendan Carr took the reins of the FCC from Jessica Rosenworcel.
Implementation of CAF-BLS and multiple other issues related to federal programs almost certainly will be impacted by the transition. These vital details will be dealt with as federal funding is awarded. In particular, funds from the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program are beginning to flow.
Since the beginning of the year, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) made three significant BEAD funding announcements:
- Louisiana: The state was the first to get its final proposal approved and can begin using its allotment of $1.355 billion
- Nevada: The state can begin using its allocation of more than $416 million to connect 43,715 homes and businesses
- Delaware: The state can begin using funds. It has been allocated more than $107 million to connect 5,721 homes and businesses
