DA 18-604
Released:  June 11, 2018

 MOBILITY FUND II CHALLENGE PROCESS 
WEBINAR FOR TRIBAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

Webinar will be held at 2:00 pm EDT on June 26, 2018

	By this Public Notice, the Office of Native Affairs and Policy (ONAP) and the Rural Broadband Auction Task Force (RBATF) announce an upcoming webinar for Tribal governments on the process for challenging the identification of areas initially deemed ineligible for universal service funding through the Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) reverse auction.  
Last year, the FCC adopted rules governing the MF-II reverse auction to award universal service support for mobile wireless carriers. Connect America Fund; Universal Service Reform – Mobility Fund, Order on Reconsideration and Second Report and Order, 32 FCC Rcd 6282 (2017); Connect America Fund; Universal Service Reform – Mobility Fund II, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 32 FCC Rcd 2152 (2017).  
  The Commission established a budget of $4.53 billion over ten years to provide ongoing support for the provision of service in areas that, absent subsidies, lack adequate mobile voice and broadband coverage.  Geographic areas lacking unsubsidized, qualified 4G LTE service have been initially deemed “eligible areas” for MF-II support; those with such service have been deemed initially “ineligible.”  The MF-II auction will include a tribal reserve to ensure some of the support awarded in the auction is directed to tribal lands.  

On February 27, 2018, the FCC released a map showing areas across the United States initially deemed eligible to receive support for the deployment of 4G LTE service. Mobility Fund Phase II Initial Eligible Areas Map, Public Notice, DA 18-187 (WTB/WCB Feb. 27, 2018).
  This map was based on the coverage maps provided by mobile carriers.  Tribal governments now have an opportunity to provide input to determine which areas will be eligible for Mobility Fund support.  The process for submission of evidence to correct the map is called the “challenge process.”  Also on February 27, 2018, the Commission announced the procedures for the challenge process in which Tribal governmental entities and other interested parties will have an opportunity to challenge an initial determination that an area is ineligible for MF-II support. Procedures for the Mobility Fund Phase II Challenge Process, Public Notice, DA 18-186 (WTB/WCB Feb. 27, 2018).
  

On April 10, 2018, the Commission made available a map of areas initially deemed ineligible for MF-II support due to qualifying, unsubsidized coverage reported by one mobile carrier. Mobility Fund Phase II One Provider Map, Public Notice, DA 18-353 (WTB/WCB Apr. 10, 2018).  This map was added as an additional layer to the existing Initial Eligible Areas map, available on the FCC’s website at https://www.fcc.gov/maps/mobility-fund-ii-initial-eligible-areas-map/.
  This map will help ensure a timely and effective MF-II challenge process as the map informs challengers of those areas for which they will need to test the coverage of only one unsubsidized mobile carrier. 
This free webinar will focus on the issues that affect tribal government offices and agencies and will explain the MF-II reverse auction, how to determine if a locality has been identified as initially deemed ineligible for support and how to challenge that determination and seek inclusion of the locality among the areas identified as eligible for support. For more information about MF-II, please see: https://www.fcc.gov/mobility-fund-phase-ii-mf-ii (FCC MF-II resource webpage) and https://www.usac.org/hc/MFII-challenge-process.aspx (USAC MF-II resource webpage).
  It will be held at 2:00 pm EDT, June 26, 2018, and will give participants an opportunity to ask questions to Commission staff.  
	The webinar will be available via WebEx.  To register, click here.  On the event information page click on the registration link, provide the required information, and then click on “Submit” to complete your registration.  Once registered you will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the event, the password, and the link for the meeting.
Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice) or 202-418-0432 (TTY).  Please include a description of the accommodation you will need and tell us how to contact you. Requests for special accommodation should be made as early as possible. Last minute requests will be accepted but may be impossible to fill.
For additional information about the webinar, please contact Carolyn Conyers, Office of Native Affairs and Policy, at carolyn.conyers@fcc.gov or (202) 418-2002.  Tribal governments are welcome to contact Sayuri Rajapakse, Office of Native Affairs and Policy, for additional information about MFII and the challenge process at sayuri.rajapakse@fcc.gov or (202) 418-2579.
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