PCCA Journal|2
nd
Quarter 2013
45
News Briefs
FCC Announces Investments to
Expand Rural Broadband
O
n May 22, FCC Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn
announced a significant public-private effort to con-
nect hundreds of thousands of Americans to high-
speed broadband as a result of the second release of Phase I
funds of the Connect America Fund. The fund will offer up
to $485 million to expand fixed broadband in rural America.
The FCC said the additional investment will leverage millions
in additional private investment to quickly serve rural areas
currently lacking access to high-speed broadband.
According to an FCC press release, approximately 15
million Americans, most of them living in rural areas, lack
broadband and the access it provides to jobs, education, and
opportunities. Without broadband, consumers and small
businesses are cut off from the $8 trillion global inter-
net economy, severely limiting opportunities for jobs and
economic prosperity. The announcement marks the second
release of Phase I funds to ensure that every American has
access to broadband by the end of the decade.
This additional investment comes as the FCC moves into
Phase II of the Connect America Fund. Phase II will provide
ongoing annual support of $1.8 billion for both voice and
broadband service, all without increasing growth in the fund,
according to the FCC. Any funding not accepted in Phase 1
will be used to connect unserved communities in Phase II.
Total FCC investment in expansion and support of rural fixed
and mobile broadband and voice through universal service is
budgeted at $4.5 billion.
Obama Taps Wheeler to Head FCC
O
n May 1, President Obama named prominent ven-
ture capitalist Tom Wheeler as his nominee to be
the new chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission. Obama said that Wheeler will help give “busi-
nesses and workers the tools they need to compete in the
21st century economy.”
Earlier in his career, Wheeler served as president of the
National Cable Television Association (NCTA) and CEO of the
Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA).
When introducing the nominee, Obama noted that Wheeler is
a member of each group’s hall of fame, making him “like the
Jim Brown or Bo Jackson of telecom.”
President Obama said that Wheeler “has been at the fore-
front of some of the very dramatic changes that we’ve seen in
the way we communicate and how we live our lives.” 
“He was one of the leaders of a company that helped cre-
ate thousands of good, high-tech jobs,” the President said.
“He’s in charge of the group that advises the FCC on the lat-
est technology issues. He’s helped give American consumers
more choices and better products.” 
NTCA—the Rural Broadband Association issued the follow-
ing statement from Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield
in response to Wheeler’s nomination:
“NTCA congratulates Mr. Wheeler upon his nomination to
serve as the next chairman of the FCC. Small rural carriers
have worked diligently to deliver on the President’s vision of
universal broadband access, and we know that Mr. Wheeler
appreciates the need for a stable, well-defined regulatory
climate to facilitate investment in and upgrade of broadband-
capable, IP-enabled networks. This is particularly important
in the hard-to-serve areas in which NTCA members operate,
and we look forward to working with Mr. Wheeler to fulfill
the promise of high-quality, affordable, and sustainable
broadband access for all Americans.”
Grant Seiffert, president of the Telecommunications Indus-
try Association, an association representing the manufactur-
ers and suppliers of high-tech communications networks,
also applauded Wheeler’s nomination. “He has the proven
ability to transcend a broad range of industry perspectives
to reach balanced outcomes,” Seiffert said. “Given that one
of the most important challenges facing the FCC will be
assuring a successful television spectrum incentive auction,
Wheeler’s breadth of experience makes him especially well-
suited to lead the FCC at this time.”
GlobeNet Completes Construction of
Bermuda-U.S. Cable System
G
lobeNet, an international wholesale provider of
submarine capacity and a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Oi, announced in April that it has completed
construction on its new high-capacity subsea cable system
(Segment 5). The new subsea cable system has a total design
capacity of 30Tb/s and links Bermuda and the United States.
The build was first announced in January 2012 and will pro-
vide more than 30 times the previously lit capacity between
Bermuda and the United States.
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