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WASHINGTON. DC 20510 
The Honorable Thomas Wheeler 
Chairman 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 12th Street, SW 
Washington, DC 20554 
Dear Chairman Wheeler: 
March I, 2016 
On February 4, 2016, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation's 
Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet Subcommittee held a hearing entitled 
''Ensuring Intermodal Universal Service Fund Supportfor Rural America'' where we, along with 
many of our colleagues, expressed our frustration with the inability of the Federal Communications 
Commission (f CC) to accurately measure mobile broadband coverage available to consumers, 
especially in rural areas. There is an obvious disconnect between official FCC statistics and our 
ow11 and our constituents' real-world experiences, and we urge you to work with stakeholders to 
iden tify more accurate ways to measure available mobi le wireless coverage. 
In 2014, the PCC declared that over 99% of the U.S. population was covered by some term 
of mobile broadband technology. Independent studies, however, indicate that the reality in our 
states is dramatically different than the FCC narrative. For example, one study found that wireless 
coverage in rural communities can be as low as 77% jn West Virginia and 81% in North Carolina. 
The 2016 Broadband Progress Report acknowledges the limitations that prevent the FCC from 
reporting geographic areas that lack advanced mobile services with reliable accuracy. We believe 
that you must partner with industry and other stakeholders to solve this problem. We cannot afford 
to ignore it any longer. 
Universal service - the idea that all Americans, regardless of age, income, and area code, 
should have access to essential communications services - has been the foundation of federal 
communications policy since the inception of the FCC. Not that long ago, this required running a 
land line to each home. Today, with nearly half of all U.S. households solely reliant on ccllphones, 
universal service means ensuring access to both fixed and mobile broadband service. Thank you 
for your consideration. We look forward to worki ng with you to fulfi ll our responsibility to llie 
American people. 
Joe Manchin lll 
United States Senator 
Sincerely, 
6A~~ 
Cory Gard r 
United States Senator 
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~~~~ ·~ Deb Fischer 
United States Senator United States Senator 
United States Senator 
Jerry Moran 
United States Senator United States Senator 
United States Senator