CLAIRE McCASKILL 
MISSOURI 
COMMITTEES 
ARMED SERVICES 
COMMERCE, SCIENCE AND 
TRANSPORTATION 
HOMELAND SECURITY 
AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 
SPECIAL COMMITIEE ON AGING 
AD HOC SUBCOMMITIEE 
ON CONTRACTING OVERSIGHT 
CHAIRMAN 
Chairman Tom Wheeler 
445 12th St SW 
tinitrd ~tatrs ~rnatr 
WASHINGTON, DC 20510 
March 6, 2014 
Washington, DC 20554-0004 
Dear Chairman Wheeler. 
IN REPLY PLEASE REFER TO 
") OFFICf INDICATED: 
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httpJ/mccasklll.senate.gov 
I am writing to express my support for the Intercounty Electric Cooperative Association's (IECA) 
expression of interest in the Federal Communications Commission's Connect America Cost 
Model. Their proposal is entitled the Rural Fiber to the Home (FITH) Pilot Project. 
In conjunction with the Rural Electrification Administration, the IECA has historically brought 
electricity to un-served rural areas in the United States. As a trusted local utility, the IECA now 
repeatedly receives requests for reliable and affordable broadband services from its members. In 
accordance with its mission and its role in the rural community it serves, IECA wishes to step up 
and provide their members with the services they are requesting. 
After extensive research, the IECA believes a FTTH solution is the most reliable way to provide 
sufficient broadband capacity and speed. IECA is proposing an initial pilot project to establish the 
scalability of FITH before future expansions to serve its entire service area. The scale of the 
initial pilot project would be limited to an initial trial build out of two substations in Texas 
County serving a census block. This project is designed to provide high-speed broadband for the 
2667 members served from the pilot substations and covering roughly 157 square miles. This 
project would represent a build out of roughly 6% of the cooperative's distribution lines in an area 
that has a population density that averages 7.56 homes per mile of line. 
Thank you in advance for your full and fair consideration of this application. Please keep me 
apprised of the progress of their application. 
Sincerely, 
Claire McCaskill 
United States Senator