907
WASHINGTON OFFICEo 
2266 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING 
W ASHINGTON, DC 20515 
(202) 225-4155 
DISTRICT OFFICEo 
11717 BURT STREET, SUITE 106 
OMAHA, NE 68154 
(402) 397- 9944 
Talk2Lee@mai l.house.gov 
www.house.gov/terry 
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COMMITTEE: 
ENERGY AND COMMERCE 
SUBCOMMITIEESo 
CHAIR M AN, COMMERCE, MANUFACTURING 
AND TRADE 
COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNO LOGY 
ENERGY AND POWER 
2nb ]!lf!)trict, j}ebra!)ka Receiveu & Inspected 
The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Chairman 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 1ih Street, SW 
Washington, DC 20536 
Dear Chairman Wheeler: 
August 20, 2014 
FCC Mail Room 
In many rural areas across the nation, broadband has become a vital means of 
communication, whether subscribers use it for job searches, to start up a business, or to connect 
with family and friends. Subscribers in many of these areas owe this capability in large part to 
the ·signi!ficant progress the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC" or "Commission") has ­
in facilitating universal service support for broadband deployment throug.h the Connect America 
Fund (" c·AF· ', ') .' ·.· .. . '} t ~ t : ~ :·· ! ; I • , : ' • 
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Phase II of CAF ("CAF II") offers a tremendous opportunity to bring faster broadband 
connections to millions of Americans who a,re still unable to access tD,is;service. Thanks to the 
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Commission ' s efforts; thOU$an˘s of rural communities are nqw ,cpunting on CAf. II . . And 
because CAF II represents the> final phase of Universal Service reform for the&e .~reas , its rules 
will determine how broadband support is distributed in these areas for years to come. 
It is important to ensure that the final details of CAF II live up to its promise. We are 
concerned that if the Commission more than doubles ~peed requirements wi~D,o.ut allowing the 
appropriate level offlexibility:in other elements o~CAF II, the program's ~)Verall mission could 
be endangered. Increasing broadband speeds is ~ot as simple '1-S turning a dial. 
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We appreciate that the June 10 FNPRM identifies a number of constructive ideas that 
could provide'this flexibility , while simultaneously ensuring faster broadband connections and 
.staying withiri the CAF II annual budget ! We urge tqe Commission to .adopt some of these .... , : 
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First, when determining whether an area is "served," the Commission should eventually 
count only services providing 10 Mbps speeds or higher rather than 4 Mbps. This would ensure 
that in making a determination whether an area is served, the Commission is considering existing 
services with characteristics that are comparable to those of CAF II recipients. Second, the 
Commission should also give providers the flexibility to use CAF support to build facilities to 
unserved consumers in partially served census blocks. When former Commission chairman 
Julius Genachowski visited Nebraska, he saw that residents of the small town of Liberty, 
Nebraska were able to access high speed broadband, but residents just a mile away were unable 
to access broadband. Many of those without access are located in the same census block in Gage 
County as those in Liberty who do have access. The fact that these residents are in the same 
census block as Liberty residents should not preclude the Commission from supporting 
deployment to them. Nonetheless, by allowing support for services to partial census blocks, the 
Commission should be mindful not to encourage CAF-supported overbuilding of other, 
comparable broadband services. 
Despite years of federal efforts to overcome the digital divide, we still hear from 
Nebraskans decrying the lack of broadband service to their homes. The concerns they raise are a 
reminder of how challenging rural broadband investment is, but also how important it is. Thank 
you for considering our concerns, and we look forward to hearing back from you on this issue. 
~b:~-g~-ss ________ _ 
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