NATE Statement on FCC’s 5G Fund Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Adoption
For Immediate Release:
April 23, 2020
NATE Statement on FCC’s 5G Fund Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Adoption
(Washington, D.C.) – NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association today issued the following statement regarding the FCC’s approval to initiate a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) process to develop a $9 billion 5G Fund to benefit rural America:
“NATE commends Chairman Ajit Pai and his colleagues on the Commission for initiating the NPRM as the next step in the process to ultimately make the 5G Fund a reality,” stated Director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Jim Goldwater. “Looking ahead, the establishment of the 5G Fund will be great news for NATE member contractor companies and their skilled technicians who will be playing a major role working alongside the wireless carriers to close the digital divide by deploying the communications tower infrastructure, equipment and technology essential to enable high-speed, next-generation mobile service to rural and underserved areas of the United States. Additionally, NATE believes that the 5G Fund will represent a major economic stimulus into rural America and ultimately serve as a job creator for professional jobs available in our industry and many other sectors. The Association looks forward to participating in the 5G Fund’s NPRM public comment period,” added Goldwater.
Chairman Pai’s plan calls for the 5G Fund that would replace the planned Mobility Fund Phase II, which would have provided federal support for 4G LTE service in unserved areas. The 5G Fund would make up to $9 billion in Universal Service Fund support available to carriers to deploy advanced 5G mobile wireless services in rural America that will not be covered by T-Mobile’s deployment commitments and where there is not a business case for deployment. This major investment in rural America would be allocated through multi-round reverse auctions and would target hard-to-serve areas with sparse populations and/or rugged terrain.
In order to balance the FCC’s policy goal of efficiently and quickly redirecting high-cost support to areas where it is most needed with the agency’s obligation to ensure that they have an accurate understanding of the extent of nationwide mobile wireless broadband deployment, the FCC seeks public input on two options for identifying areas that would be eligible for 5G Fund support. Approximately $1 billion of the 5G fund would be allocated specifically for deployments facilitating precision agriculture needs.
For more information on today’s 5G Fund NPRM announcement by Chairman Pai, visit www.fcc.gov. For more information on NATE, visit www.natehome.com today.
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About NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association is a non-profit trade association dedicated to providing a unified voice for companies in the diverse tower and communications infrastructure construction, service and maintenance industries. Today the Association boasts over 965 member companies located throughout the United States, Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Israel, Jamaica, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Trinidad and the United Kingdom. For additional information on NATE, please visit www.natehome.com.
Contact: Todd Schlekeway
(605) 882-5865
