LARRY BUCSHON, M.D. 
8TH DISTRICT, INDIANA ~UG 2 2 20\4 
COMMITTEE ON 
EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE 
COMM ITTEE ON 
WASHINGTON. DC OFFICE: 
1005 LONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING 
W ASHINGTON, DC 20515 
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~QU~£ Q{ l\tpf£~£ntatib£~ SCIENCE, SPACE AND TECHNOLOGY (202) 225-4636 
DISTRICT OFFICES: 
10 1 NW MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BOULEVARD 
ROOM 124 WW!a~bington, jDQt 20515-1408 
EVANSVILLE, IN 47708 
(812) 465-6484 
901 WABASH AVENUE, SUITE 140 
T EARE HAUTE, IN 47807 
(812) 232-0523 
The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Chairman 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 l21h Street, SW 
Washington, DC 20536 
Dear Chairman Wheeler: 
August 12, 2014 
htto://bucs hon. house. gov 
Broadband Internet access has become an essential part of the economic and social fabric 
in many rural Indiana 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. 
In a rural district, such as mine, I want to ensure that counties such as Greene and Sullivan have 
the same high-quality access as Vanderburgh and Vigo. 
Phase II of the Connect America Fund ("CAF II") offers a tremendous opportunity to 
bring quicker, 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 now counting on CAF II. CAF II represents the final phase of 
Universal Service reform for these areas, and will determine, for years to come, whether millions 
of rural residents will have a broadband connection or not. Also, the June 10 Further NPRM has 
raised additional hopes by significantly increasing the promised download speeds from 4 Mbps 
to 10 Mbps. 
I want 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 areas ofCAF II, the program's 
overall mission could be jeopardized. 
While I have concerns, 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 five years to 1 0 years to 
allow adequate time for the construction of the higher-capacity network. Next, the Commission 
must use the same 1 0 Mbps standard when identifying broadband availability from competitors, 
or 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 CAP's limited funding framework. As such, providers must 
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be given the flexibility to substitute extremely high cost locations with unserved locations in 
partially served census blocks. 
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 untested assertions of wireless ISPs 
with line of sight and capacity issues that made them a poor substitute for fiber-fed networks. 
Now that we are in the final phase, I hope the CAF II standards can reach those unserved 
customers, and also require competitive carriers to meet a reasonable standard of verification 
before depriving a community of CAF II support. 
I still hear from constituents seeking assistance to bring broadband service to their 
homes, despite years of federal efforts to overcome the digital divide. 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. 
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