PCCA Journal|2
nd
Quarter 2013
47
ate subcommittee on April 9 at a hearing on the state of rural
communications.
CenturyLink recommended that the Federal Communica-
tions Commission (FCC) release additional Connect America
Fund (CAF) Phase I monies right away to help carriers meet
the high costs of bringing broadband to unserved areas.
“In the 21st century economy, being connected has be-
come an integral part of nearly everything we do—in work,
education, medicine, agriculture, and
numerous other pursuits,” Davis told the
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science and Transportation Subcommit-
tee on Communications, Technology and
the Internet. “And for rural communi-
ties seeking economic development, a
robust broadband infrastructure is often
a prerequisite before any business, large
or small, will consider moving to that
area.”
Over the past five years, Davis said,
CenturyLink has invested more than
$4 billion to bring broadband access
to every corner of its service territory
where it is economically feasible. “And
despite the rural nature of our markets,
we are making high-speed internet
service available to more than 91 percent
of the homes and businesses in our local
service areas,” he said.
“In the last several years, broadband
availability has definitely increased, but
more must be done,” Davis said. “In
the near term, the challenge is to keep
reaching unserved households and bring
more consumers and communities into
the broadband economy.”
Davis said that as the FCC and rural
providers have worked together, several
guiding principles have emerged over
time: 
• We must target support on a granular
basis to places where market forces
would not otherwise make it available.
• We must ensure that support goes
only to those uneconomic places and
where there is not an unsubsidized
competitor providing adequate service.
• We must ensure that supported ser-
vices are reasonably equivalent to those available in urban
markets, in features, quality, and price. 
• We must match support and obligations to serve—obli-
gations cannot exceed the available support, and those
obligations should be limited to the supported areas.
“Timely FCC action could significantly narrow the rural
digital divide, and faster broadband speeds and greater avail-
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