Loss of USF Is an 'Existential' Threat for Some CCA Members

For some CCA members, USF is “an existential issue,” and these carriers' deaths wouldn’t be slow, Donovan said last week. Some carriers have started looking at “what their cash flow forecast looks like and how do you continue to make payroll?” Even if SCOTUS upholds the USF contribution factor as constitutional, “we still have work [to do] with Congress and the FCC to make sure that it’s also sustainable going forward."

CCA is hosting its spring show this week in Denver, though FCC travel cutbacks mean that no commissioners or staff are in attendance. Only FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez attended NAB’s recent show, and she had to pay her own way (see 2504080036).

Many CCA members are in very rural and remote areas, so traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with regulators can be a challenge, Donovan said. CCA will do its best to find ways for its members to discuss issues with the FCC even if they can’t meet at a conference, he said.

Donovan also said CCA is working with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on the 5G Fund after challenging parts of it in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (see 2502100056). The group hopes the fund will be synchronized with other federal programs. “What happens with BEAD has a big role in what opportunities there are in the 5G Fund,” he said.

Since Carr dissented on last year’s 5G Fund order (see 2408290041), tweaks appear likely, Donovan said. “We feel pretty confident … they’re not going to push 'go' without making some changes.” The FCC could change the order by acting on various petitions for reconsideration before commissioners (see 2504110052), he said.

A delay in the 5G Fund also gives the FCC more time to fix its broadband coverage maps, Donovan said. “We’ve had big problems” with carriers filing bulk data for challenges. According to recent data from the FCC, the agency accepted for filing about 3.7 million fixed availability challenges and only 108 mobility availability challenges, he said. That shows “issues with the challenge process.” Carr and staff are hearing about mapping problems from members of Congress, and changes are likely, Donovan said.

CCA members are anxious for more certainty on BEAD as well. Some, in states like Louisiana and Nevada, await final federal approvals to get started, he said, while others are giving the program “a second look” in light of potential Trump administration changes. Some of the policy debates have been on “all fiber or all satellite,” but CCA members see other options, he said. They agree that satellite service may be the best solution to reach the most isolated locations, but “you can’t have 5G service, really, without fiber backhaul." If you get fiber to the tower, you can provide fixed-wireless service now, he said. “That’s also planting a flag to be able to have fiber in the area” to later overbuild fixed wireless.

The FCC now has funding from the Treasury Department for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2412300021), Donovan said. CCA expects word soon from the FCC that additional funds are available.

Donovan noted that with the end of the winter, “the build season” is starting. “The snow is starting to melt in Wyoming and Montana,” and companies can get to towers at higher elevations. The costs of replacing unsecure gear have increased since estimates were filed at the FCC, he said. Carriers “are trying to figure out how best to deal with that," and Congress is unlikely to provide additional money in the “current climate.”

CCA still lacks a “good read” on what rising tariffs will mean for smaller providers (see 2504140033), Donovan said. Costs will increase for network equipment and devices, though. CCA members will “have to be creative” in doing promotions if the cost of smartphones rises, he said, noting that customers also keep old phones longer than they once did.