MICHAEL F. BENNET WASHINGTON DC COLORADO So" " t0." t9""""""' TON. DC 20610 202) 224 6852 CO!A!ITTl'ES COLORADO AGRICULTURE. NUTRffiON, AND FORESTRY filnitcd cStotcs eScnatc PNANCE 163 WASHINGTON, DC 20510-0609 HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS March 7, 2018 Chairman Ajit Pai Federal Communications Commission 1 44 5 I2 h Street SW Washington, DC 20554 Dear Chairman Pai: I write to follow up on the Federal Communications Commission's deployment of the Connect America Fund Phase II (CAF-11 ) "reverse-auction" funding. My office and staff continue to receive complaints about the lack of clear and detai led information regarding the status of the previously distributed CAF-11 funds. While transparency remains a paramount concern, I also write to request that the next round of CA F-11 funding ensure that all providers capable of delivering reliable, affordable, high-speed broadband in Colorado are eligible to compete for these funds on a level playing field to build out to unserved rural communities. Many local Internet service providers across Colorado have not been eligible for previous funding rounds because of their size, customer base, or incapacity to provide voice service in addition to Internet. The next round of funding shou ld ensure that broadband providers in less popu lous areas are able to compete, giving them a chance to fulfi ll the original mission of the Connect America Fund. I would also like to ensure that bidders are being encouraged to offer the highest quality service possible. The previous round of CAF funding, as well as the upcoming reverse auction, allows certain areas with I 0 Mbps download by I Mbps upload speeds to be considered served, which is not only inconsistent with the FCC's 2015 broadband definition of25 Mbps down load by 3 Mbps upload, but barely sufficient for basic internet use, let alone adequate connectivity for business, education, and economic development in rural areas. A failure to encourage CAF recipients to bui ld out at higher speeds, or at least establish a network architecture that will eventually be capable of higher speeds, could continue to deny many rural areas the economic opportunity that true connectivity brings. Given these concerns and our shared belief of the importance of high-speed, reliable, and affordable broadband for all Americans, I would appreciate answers to the following questions: " Will applications for the next round of CAF funding be made public and transparent? " How will the next round of CAF funding be designed so that rural states are less disadvantaged and legitimate providers in rural parts of Colorado are more competitive? " What are you doing to suppo11 smaller prov iders to help them clear the various regu latory hurdles, such as the need to be certified by a state and the obligation to provide voice service in addition to internet, so that they are el igible for funding? " What steps are you taking to encourage deployment of higher speeds and more affordable services in order to future-proof the next round of funding? " How are you ensuring that bidders understand that they will have a better chance of receiving funding if they can offer higher speeds at affordable prices? PRIN ri;o ON RECYCLED PAPER " Are you conducting community outreach to ensure that applicants are aware of the regulatory hooks as well as ways to maximize their chances of receiving fundin g? In addi tion to these questions, I have attached an addendum of three letters that outline some of the primary concerns surrounding broadband access in Colorado. The first letter is from a couple who wants to relocate their business and family from California to Colorado but has been hindered by lack of high­ speed and re liable broadband in rural areas of the state. The second letter laments the highly inconsistent coverage in southwest Colorado as well as the lack of transparency about the program during the last round of CAF fundi ng. The third and final letter is from the Southwest Colorado Council of Governments (SWCCOG). High-speed, reliable, affordable broadband is essential for our communities to thrive in a 21 s" Century economy, and I bel ieve we have to do everything we can to make that a reality- especially in our rural commu nities. I know that we share a commitment to closing the digital div ide so 1 look forward to your prompt response as we work together to connect and li ft up our communities through high-speed, affordable, and reliable broadband access. Please let me know if you have any questions and thank you in advance for your cooperation. Sincerely, Michael F. Bennet United States Senator I. Letter fro1n Kirsten Lee :tnd Richard Far1ner Dear Senator Bennet, We o\vn a property up at Len1on Lake Uust 12111iles outside of town) in the city litnits of Durango and I \vanted to share \Vith you 1ny fervent plea re: internet connectivity for the outlying areas of town. Although \Ve currently reside in California, 1ny fan1ily has had land in/around SW Colorado since 1971 and we've o\vned our current property at Len1on since 20 ! 4. My husband Richard is a filtn1naker (http://www.richardfarmcr.tv/) +he ov.·ns a con11ncrcial drone business (v.·wwJ)ronesoJPeace.con:i} \Vhich c1nployees 4 full tirne people+ a handful ofpart-ti1ners. I run a portfolio of assets for a large, publica!ly traded REl"f - and both of us could 'vork fron1 anywhere and have considered inoving fro1n California to Colorado to our property \vhich could easily accon1modate our work projects. We \vould bring with us our personal inco1nes (about a inillion dollars in taxable incon1e annually)+ the ability to hire local fu!l tin1e e1nployees. These vvou!d be good paying jobs that would e1nploy local people. We·d also bring \Vith us our son \Vho \vould attend the local schools, our n1any friends and fan1ily \Vho love lo visit (and spend their touristn dollars in Durango) and our ability to volunteer and be a pa11 of the con1munity. l·lowevcr, this drea111 of relocating our lives to Durango is impossible given the slow inten1ct options available lo us as our business rely on high-speed connectivity in the san1e way we all rely on roads, or electricity. Most of you reading this already know about internet connectivity being a huge problen1 for people trying to \Vork fron1 hon1e in/around Durango, so I kno\V our particular issue isn't unique. In the 3 years since \Ve purchased this particular propc1iy, I've gone down the rabbit hole, so to speak on this topic, and spoken to everyone fro1n executives & engineers at Century Link, to the o\vner of Sky\verx, Jared Davis, to the SWCCOGs folks, etc., and have learned what you already probably know: a) DSL connectivity in our area isn't going to happen b/c Century Link's lines are capped out with the cun·enl users in our area and per custoiner service reps, they say lhey are \vaiting until "fiber optic lines get installed as pa1i of the federal broadband initiative." b) Going further up the food chain at Century Link, lo Linda Blackstone, Director of Engineering and Construction (en1ail attached) she flatly debunks that clai1n n1ade by custo1ner service departn1ent as they "do not ha1'e an_v plans al this lin1e lo upgrade this area. This ivou!d involve placingfiherfor a lillle over./ 111iles and placing electronics at 2 sejJGrate locations. There are no jJlans in !he near future to construct this JJroject. " In a follow-up phone call, she acknowledged that the tl1nding Century Link did receive fro1n the FCC was all applied to infill for suburban Denver and that the ru1nors of' Fiber optic lines being run'" in/around Durango in the near/n1ediu1n future are false. They have NO plans to do so (through 2020). c) Jared Davis with SkyWerx in Pagosa indicated that he \vould love to be able to run those lines, but that until the FCC opens up the funding to the s1naller guys like hi1n - those funds ,.vii! continue to go to the large teleco1ns (like Century Link) v.·ho \Viii continue to spend that 1noney in the bigger 1netro areas. Which leaves us in a li1nbo - no plan, no funding, just a hope that 'son1ething \viii be done.' You tnight be thinking: so what? You're just one person \Vho wants to 1nove to Durango .... but it's 1nuch bigger than just us and our desire to relocate here, as it affects most of our full-time neighbors that I talk to up by us at Letnon/Florida Rd. For exan1p!e, it's our locally based property 1nanager \Vho can't send or receive invoices due to s[ov.-' internet, it's our carpenter \Vho lives up there who lan1ents the !i1nitations of being able to gro\v his business b/c he can't upload and tnaintain his website fron1 his shop, it's the local guns1nith do\vn the road from me who can't send pictures to prospective clients and has to drive into town to get wifi, it's the local builders that worked for us building a bunkhouse for us last surn1ner \Vho would have to drive into town to co1111nunicate properly to clients, it's our neighbor that runs an hunting outfitter service that has given up trying to maintain an online presence due to load ti1nes, etc. In short, Durango has current s1nall !ocal businesses that will point blank tel! you that the lack of high speed internet is a direct in1pedi1nent to growing their businesses. Everyone see111s to think that 'soinething is being done' but the cold hard reality is: nothing is being done by the big Telecoms and there is no local, actionable plan. All this to say, I sincerely urge you, as business leaders of the area, to n1ake your highest priority bringing fiber optic cabling to the entire area, and quickly. Jn order for Durango to gro\V its local businesses, tnany of whon1 are ho1ne-based in areas \vith terrible to no connectivity, this should be the charge of the day! Furthennore, in order to bring new growth to the area, a pri1ne consideration of those businesses \Viii be: can I run n1y business the \Vay I need to? In our case, en1phatica!ly no, we cannot. The aiticle below is \vhat spurred this en1ail as it so clearly spells out \vhat is ailing us, is shared by 1nany in the country - and there appear to be workarounds if spearheaded by creative, ambitious local leadership. https://ww\V, wsj.co1n/articles/rural-an1erica-is-stranded-i n-the-d ial-up-age-1497535841 Thank you for reading/sharing 1ny letter. One day, we hope to be a futl-titne, active n1e1nber of the Durango con1n1unity and look for\vard to thanking you in person. Best, J(irsten Lee & Richard Fanner II. Letter fron1 Mr. Jerry S\vinglc Dear Senator Bennet, Thank you for follovv-thru on Cen1uryLink funding/i1nproven1ents! I have been atten1pting (unsuccessfully) to get residential internet service in Hennosa for 4 years. fn11nediate neighbors have (low-speed) service, while ~l/2 tnile away CenturyLink provides Dalton Ranch \vith 80Mb/s. CenturyLink has consistently denied having/providing ANY infortnation about planned local systein upgrades - despite a high-speed/high-capacity fiber optic cable laid along l-l\vy 550 three (3) sumn1ers ago ... less than 150 yards ti·o1n n1y residence! Anything your office can do to get CenturyLink to address this \vill be appreciated by local constituents I \viii appreciate being infonned of any progress re CenturyLink issues. Mr. JeiTy Swingle Durango, Colorado Ill. Letter from the Southwest Colorado Council of Governments 31October,2017 Senator Michael Bennet United States Senate 261 Russell Senate Office Building \Vashington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-5852 RE: CAFlf Funding in South\vest Colorado Dear Senator Bennet, The Southwest Colorado Council of Govern1nents (SWCCOG) is located in the southwest corner of Colorado, in the region consisting of the five counties of Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, ivfontezuina, and San Juan and the two Native A1nerican Tribes of the Southern Ute and the Ute Mountain Ute. We \Vould like to express concern about the approach CenturyLink has taken \vith respect to CAFII funding in South\vest Colorado. CenturyLink has been awarded tens of millions of dollars for n1uhiple years through the FCC's Connect An1crica Fund II (CAFII), the purpose of which is to ensure that consu1ners in rural, insular, and high­ cost areas have access to 1nodern co111munlcations nehvorks capable of providing voice and broadband service. both fixed and 1nobile, at rates that are reasonably con1parable to those in urban areas. Meanwhile the SWCCOG has continually received complaints about CenturyLink service across the region from residents and businesses, especially dismaying are the coinplaints froin areas slated to receive CAFII funding. When approached regarding these concerns, answers are elusive and issues rcn1ain largely unaddressed. Of specific concern, \Vhen the SWCCOG asked about service in the area near Leinen Reservoir, located in La Plata County, the Board was told by CenturyLink that this area is not covered by CAFll funding. I-Iowever, according to information on the FCC's website this area is included and CenturyLink is required to provide broadband service to this area. This is concerning not only because of the inconsistent information surrounding this issue, but also because i1nprove1nents in the area do not seem to be forthcoining. We are concerned that significant pot1ions of south\vest Colorado \vi!J reinain without service despite funding specifically allocated for that purpose. In addition to infrastructure si1nply not being installed, the SWCCOG is concerned that the infrastructure CenturyLink is installing will only provide 1OMbps by l tvtbps (download by upload) speeds, as the bare 1nini1nun1 required by CAFII. In 2015 the FCC defined broadband as 25Mbps by 3Mbps. Speeds of I OM bps by ! Mbps is barely sufficient for 1noderate internet use, and not nearly adequate for the connectivity for business, education and econon1ic develop1nent that rural Arnerica critically needs. We seek your support in helping us hold CenturyLink accountable for the funds they receive that should be used to expand infrastructure in southwest Colorado. Thank you for your tin1e and any support you can provide to resolve these n1atters. Sincerely// ./ ,,. I / ) ,,--.. /,, ·1 I1 , . ' \ (.I ' 0I '! ·' , I \ .'/!. // ///. / I l )(1· ' /;1 / Miria1n C. Gillow-Wiles Executive Director Southwest Colorado Council of Governrnents director@s\vccog.org cc: Colorado State Senator Don Cora1n Colorado I-louse District 58 Representative Marc Catlin Colorado House District 59 Representative Barbara McLaughlin