PATRICK T. M cHENRY 
MEt., BEA OF CONGRESS 
10TH DISTRICT, NORTH CAROliNA 
2334 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING 
WASHINGTON, DC 20515 
(2021 225-2576 
FAX: (2021225-03 16 
\'1\Vw.house.gov/mchenry 
COMMITTEES: 
C!Congregg of tbe mtntteb ~tateg 
J!)ou~e of l\epre~entatibe~ 
'[~asbington, fl)qr 20515- 3310 
FINANCIAL SERVICES 
OVERSIGHT AND 
GOVERNMENT RE FORM 
The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Chairman 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 12111 Street SW 
' 
Washington, DC 20536 
Dear Chairman Wheeler: 
October 14, 2014 
DISTRICT OFFICES: 
8 7 FOURTH STREET, NW 
SUITE A 
P.O . Box 1830 
HICKORY, NC 28603 
(8281 327-1>1 00 
FAX: (8281327-83 11 
GASTONIA DISTRICT OFFICE: 
128 WEST MAIN AVENUE, SUITE 115 
GASTONIA, NC 28052 
(7041833-0096 
FAX: (7041833-0887 
BUNCOMBE REGIONAL O FFICE: 
BLACK MOUNTNN T OWN HAlL 
160 M IDLAND AVENUE 
BLACK M OUNT Alii, N C 287 11 
(828) 669-0600 
TOLL FREE IN N C 
(8001 4 77- 2576 
Broadband Internet access has become an essential pati of the economic and social fabric 
in rural North Carolina, 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 conununities are now counting 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 NPRM has raised hopes further by more than doubling the promised download 
speeds from 4 Mbps to 1 0 Mbps. 
I write to you today 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 endangered. 
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 
PRifHEO ON RECYCLED PAPER 
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 Conunission 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 be given the flexibility to substitute extremely high cost locations with 
unserved locations in partially served census blocks. 
I would 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. Now that we are in the final phase, we 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 conununity of CAF II support. 
Despite years of federal efforts to overcome the digital divide, I still often hear from 
constituents in rural North Carolina 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. 
Sincerely,