ILEC Industry Tells Congress Not to Alter RDOF to Remove ETC Requirement

In a letter signed by WTA, USTelecom, and NTCA sent to Congress today, the associations expressed “deep concern with proposed legislation to prospectively eliminate the eligible telecommunication carrier (ETC) designation for certain broadband providers seeking to compete for funding through the FCC’s imminently upcoming RDOF auction.”

The letter states that this is “a solution in need of a problem” and that “rewriting the rules ‘mid-game’ to make a substantial change in the auction’s eligibility framework would introduce the prospect of delay in a process that promises to deliver 21st century broadband to millions of Americans.”