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PCCA Journal|3

rd

Quarter 2015

11

communications companies, broadband

providers, wireless companies, and

fiber-to-the-home providers. As with the

electric program, grants for broadband

enhancements are reserved for commu-

nities with the highest need.

PCCA supports robust RUS fund-

ing through federal appropriations and

other legislation that would allow RUS

to leverage federal dollars. PCCA is

particularly interested in the status of

the “773 contract,” which provides for

construction, maintenance, and repair

of telephone equipment and facilities.

Revisions are pending related to 773

projects, including increasing the limit of

these contracts, and PCCA will monitor

developments and educate policymakers

about the importance of 773 projects.

For years, RUS has served as the

lender of last resort for unserved or

underserved rural communities that

lack essential utility services that other

areas of the country take for granted.

Nevertheless, RUS funding is often the

target of overzealous budget hawks in

Congress looking to cut federal spend-

ing in any way, shape, or form. As a key

player in connecting rural America and

providing critical infrastructure improve-

ments to power and communications

systems in rural areas, PCCA considers

itself a steward of the program. There-

fore, protection and enhancement of

RUS programs will be a pillar of PCCA’s

advocacy program.

Federal Communications

Commission

Expansion of telecommunications

service, especially access to high-speed

internet in underserved areas, was a

campaign promise of candidate Obama

in 2008 and again by President Obama in

2012. The FCC provides federal dollars to

expedite this expansion, although gaps

in the information chain have left many

stakeholders at a loss as to how these

resources can be accessed.

The Connect America Fund (CAF)

came out of the FCC’s Universal Service

Fund (USF) a few years ago, intended

to eventually replace high-cost support

systems. The high-cost program within

the existing USF provides subsidies to

telecommunications carriers that serve

rural and other remote areas with high

costs of providing telephone service.

There are several stipulations that

need to be met in order to access CAF

resources, including requirements that

proposed service areas are high-cost and

within the provider’s service area, and

that service providers demonstrate that

Continued on page 12

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