PCCA Journal 2nd Quarter 2014 - page 19

PCCA Journal|2
nd
Quarter 2014
19
TELECOM NEWS
Continued on page 20
Competition, Uncertainty Pose
Challenges to Rural Broadband
T
he nation’s small, inde-
pendent telecommuni-
cations providers con-
tinue to make significant
progress in providing
availability of high-speed broadband to
rural Americans, but competition within
the marketplace as well as regulatory
uncertainty continue to pose challenges,
according to a new survey by NTCA—
The Rural Broadband Association.
The “NTCA 2013 Broadband/Internet
Availability Survey Report” found that
41 percent of survey respondents cur-
rently deploying fiber serve at least 50
percent of their customers using fiber to
the home (FTTH), up from 33 percent in
2012. Seventy-six percent of respondents
indicated that they have a plan in place
to continue deployment: 58 percent ex-
pect to offer fiber to the node (FTTN) to
more than 75 percent of their customers
by the end of 2016 and 61 percent expect
to be able to provide FTTH to at least
half of their customers by 2016.
While advancements are being made,
more than half of respondents indicated
their ability to compete with larger pro-
viders may hinder their efforts. However,
they are taking numerous marketing
steps to combat this, including bundling
services (87 percent) and offering free
equipment installation (79 percent),
price promotions (74 percent), free
modems (59 percent), free introductory
service (45 percent), and free education
and training (33 percent).
Eighty percent of respondents also
indicated that regulatory uncertainty
continues to discourage expanding
broadband deployment. Chief among
their concerns is what mechanism will
ultimately take the place of the quantile
regression analysis (QRA) caps that were
eliminated by the FCC in April.
“While the regulatory picture has
become somewhat less murky on Uni-
versal Service Fund support with the
elimination of the QRA, the future is still
far from certain,” said NTCA Econo-
mist Rick Schadelbauer. “Absent some
sense of predictability, small carriers
will be loath to commit precious capital
resources to long-term projects, and
lenders will not be willing to make loans
when payback cannot be satisfactorily
guaranteed.”
Twenty-seven percent of NTCA
members participated in the online
survey in the winter of 2013. The survey
comprised general questions about the
respondents’ current operations, compe-
tition, marketing efforts, and current and
planned fiber deployment. Additional
questions addressed the internet back-
bone, voice over internet protocol and
video.
The report is available at
Appeals Court Upholds
FCC Rural Broadband Initiative
T
he Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) saw its 2011 proposal to expand
broadband to rural areas upheld after a judge
rejected arguments from carriers over the
loss of telephone subsidy funds, according to
eclectronista.com, a technology news website. The Connect
America Fund, a $4.5 million initiative aimed at spreading
faster internet access, was under review by the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver after numerous
telecommunication companies challenged the plan.
The 297-page filing outlined many of the claims from pro-
viders, often worried about the financial impact that would
be caused by the FCC shifting annual telephone subsides to
broadband. Concerns were brought up about the change in
the intercarrier compensations system, which might have
a larger effect on smaller telecom companies due to the ex-
changing of funds between carriers to transfer calls between
one another. These sorts of transfers are more common in
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