H. MORGAN GRIFFITH Received & Inspected 
9TH DISTRICT, VIRGINIA 
AUll U 4 1'014 COMMITIEE ON 
ENERGY AND COMMERCE 
SU8COMMITIEES: 
ENERGY AND POWER 
HEALTH 
OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS 
www.morgangrlfflth.house.gov 
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The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Chairman 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 12th Street SW 
Washington, DC 20554-0004 
Dear Chairman Wheeler: 
July 29, 2014 
1108 LONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING 
WASHINGTON, DC 20515 
(202) 225-3861 PHONE 
(202) 225-Q076 FAX 
323 WEST MAIN STREET 
ABINGDON, VA 24210 
(276) 525-1405 PHONE 
(276) 525-1444 FAX 
17 WEST MAIN STREET 
CHRISTIANSBURG, VA 24073 
(540) 381-5671 PHONE 
(540) 381-5675 FAX 
Broadband Internet access has become an essential part of the economic and social fabric 
in many rural communities, as a tool to build businesses, apply for jobs, enhance educational 
opportunities and connect to friends and relatives. With robust broadband service, even a small 
town can rely on its residents' talent and determination to compete with the world. Without it, 
the same community risks being left behind in today's technology-centric economy. 
Phase II of the Connect America Fund ("CAF II") offers a tremendous opportunity to 
bring speedier, fiber-fed broadband connections to millions of Americans who wouldn't 
otherwise receive these benefits. Thanks to the Commission's well-publicized efforts, thousands 
of rural communities are nowcounting on CAF II. And because CAF II represents the final 
phase of Universal Service reform for these areas, its rules will effectively determine, for years 
to come, whether millions of rural residents will have a broadband connection or not. Indeed, 
the June 10 Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) has raised hopes by more than 
doubling the promised download speeds from 4 Mbps to I 0 Mbps. 
I am writing to emphasize how important it is to ensure that the final details of CAF II 
live up to its promise. I am concerned that if the Commission more than doubles the speed 
requirements without allowing the appropriate level of flexibility in other elements of CAF II, 
the program's overall mission could be compromised. 
To the Commission's credit, the June 10 FNPRM identifies a number of constructive 
ideas that could help achieve the speedier network goals without exceeding the CAF II annual 
budget. First, the CAF II funding period must be extended from the current 5 years to 10 years 
to allow adequate time for the construction of the higher-capacity network. Next, the 
Commission must use the same 10 Mbps standard when identifying broadband availability from 
competitors, or else communities with just 4 Mbps will be left behind. The Commission 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. 
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER 
I also encourage you to be as precise as possible when targeting support to areas where 
broadband would not otherwise be available. In the "interim" CAF I phases, an entire census 
block could be disqualified if a competitive carrier claimed to serve even a small fraction of its 
customers, and many areas were disqualified based on the assertions of wireless ISPs with line of 
sight and capacity issues that made them an inadequate substitute for fiber-fed networks. Now 
that we are in the final phase, I hope the CAF II standards can reach those unserved customers, 
like many of my constituents, and also require competitive carriers to meet a reasonable standard 
of verification before depriving a community of CAF II support. 
Despite years offederal 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 views, and I look forward to working with you on this and 
other issues. 
Sincerely, 
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