PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12 th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 15-215 Released: February 13, 2015 WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU RELEASES LIST OF CENSUS BLOCKS TO BE REMOVED FROM PRICE CAP OFFER OF MODEL-BASED SUPPORT AND UPDATED FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR RURAL BROADBAND EXPERIMENTS WC Docket No. 10-90 WC Docket No. 14-259 On December 18, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) established a process to exclude from the offer of Connect America Phase II model-based support certain census blocks included in non-winning rural broadband experiments applications. 1 Specifically, the Commission concluded that it would remove from the offer of model-based support those census blocks in funding category one projects where the bidder indicated its desire to remain in consideration for rural broadband experiments support by filing certain financial and technical information with the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) by a specified deadline. 2 That deadline was January 6, 2015. The Commission specifically stated that no census blocks would be excluded from the offer of support for price cap carriers “where the rural broadband experiment applicant is seeking a waiver of one of more requirements established for rural broadband experiments, including the submission of the requisite financial and technical information.” 3 Today, the Bureau releases the list of census blocks that will be removed from the offer of model- based support pursuant to this Commission directive. Interested parties can access this list at http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/Cat1CBsExcluded.zip. The list provides the census block ID numbers (CBFIPS) and census tract ID numbers (TractFIPS) of those census blocks that were the subject of funding category one bids where the bidder successfully filed the requisite financial and technical information required by 1 See Connect America Fund; ETC Annual Reports and Certifications; Petition of USTelecom for Forbearance Pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 160(c) from Obsolete ILEC Regulatory Obligations that Inhibit Deployment of Next- Generation Networks, WC Docket Nos. 10-90, 14-58, 14-192, Report and Order, FCC 14-190, para. 84 (rel. Dec. 18, 2014) (December 2014 Connect America Fund Order). 2 Interested bidders were required to file their most recent three consecutive years of audited financial statements, a description of the technology and system design they proposed to use, and a network diagram certified by a professional engineer by January 6, 2015 in order to remain in consideration for rural broadband experiments support. See id. at para. 83; Wireline Competition Bureau Announces Deadline for Bidders Interested in Remaining Under Consideration for Rural Broadband Experiments Support to File Additional Information, WC Docket Nos. 10-90, 14-259, Public Notice, 29 FCC Rcd 15132 (Wireline Comp. Bur. 2014). The Bureau subsequently released a list of the entities that successfully met these requirements for all categories of the rural broadband experiments. See Wireline Competition Bureau Announces Entities Under Consideration as Next-in-Line Bidders for Rural Broadband Experiments Support, WC Docket Nos. 10-90, 14-259, Public Notice, DA 15-157 (Wireline Comp. Bur. rel. Feb. 3, 2015). 3 December 2014 Connect America Fund Order at para. 84. 2the Commission’s January 6 th deadline. The list also details the state and county where the census blocks are located, as well as a breakdown of the total locations in each block. The Bureau also announces that it has posted updated answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the rural broadband experiments on the Commission’s website. The FAQs are available at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/rural-broadband-experiments. For additional information on this proceeding, contact Ian Forbes (Ian.Forbes@fcc.gov) of the Wireline Competition Bureau, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, (202) 418-7400. – FCC –