SAM GRAVES 
6 H D•··TAICT, MISSOURI 
1415 LON(oWORTti HOUSE OFFI(l BUILDIN(, 
WASHINGTON, DC 20515 
(2021 225 7041 C!l:ongress of tbe 'mniteb ~tates 
J!)ou~e of l\epre~entatibe~ 
mta~bington, jD(( 20515-2506 
The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Chairman 
July 23, 2014 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 l2'h Street, SW 
Washington, DC 20536 
Dear Chairman Wheeler: 
Rece1veu & Inspected 
AUv U 5 t.014 
FCC Marl oom 
11724 NW PLAZA CIRClE, SUII[ 900 
KANSAS CITY, MO 64153 
(8161792 3976 
411 JullS STRlET, ROOM 111 
Sr JOSrf'H, MO 64501 
(8161749-0800 
906 BROADWAY, P.O. Box 364 
HANNIRAl, MO 63401 
(5731 221 3400 
The rural communities located in my Northern Missouri Congressional District rely on 
broadband Internet access as a tool to build businesses, apply for jobs, enhance educational 
opportunities and connect to friends and relatives. With this in mind, I write to emphasize how 
important it is to ensure that the final details of Phase II of the Connect America Fund {CAF II) 
live up to its promise. 
CAF II offers a tremendous opportunity to bring speedier broadband connections to millions of 
Americans who wouldn't otherwise receive these benefits. Thanks to the Federal 
Communication Commission's (FCC) well-publicized efforts, thousands of rural communities 
are now counting on CAF II. And because CAF II represents the final phase of Universal Service 
reform for these areas, the FCC's rules will effectively detennine whether millions of rural 
residents have a broadband connection or not. 
To the FCC's credit, the June 10 Further Notice of Proposed Rule-Making (FNPRM) identifies a 
number of constructive ideas that could help achieve the speedier network goals without 
exceeding the CAF II annual budget. Indeed, the FNPRM has also raised hopes further by more 
than doubling the promised download speeds from 4 Mbps to I 0 Mbps. However, I am 
concerned that if the FCC more than doubles the speed requirements without allowing the 
appropriate level of flexibility in other clements ofCAF 11, the program's overall mission could 
be endangered. 
The CAF II funding period must be extended from the current 5 years to 10 years in order to 
allow adequate time for the construction of the higher-capacity network. Further, the FCC also 
must establish network build-out parameters consistent with the goal of providing quality 
broadband service to as many people as possible within CAF's limited funding framework. As 
such, providers must be given the flexibility to substitute extremely high-cost locations with 
unserved locations in partially-served census blocks. 
PRINTlD ON RECYCLED PAPER 
The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Page 2 
Despite the FCC's efforts to overcome the digital divide, I still often hear from constituents 
seeking assistance to bring broadband service to their homes. The concerns they raise are a 
reminder of how challenging rural broadband policy can be, but also how important it is. Thank 
you for considering my concerns, and I look forward to working with you.