BILL JOHNSON WASHINGTON OFFICE 6TH DISTRICT, OH IO 2336 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE ~a~~ ~· (202) 225-5705 COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET billjohnson.house.gov CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 390 May 1, 2020 The Honorable Ajit Pai Chairman Federal Communications Commission 445 12" h Street, SW Washington, DC 20554 Dear Chairman Pai, It has been brought to my attention that Frontier Communications has challenged the list of census blocks deemed eligible for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I Auction. While I recognize and respect the right of all Internet Service Providers to update the FCC on where they are providing service and to challenge the eligibility of those census blocks, I respectfully request that the FCC conduct a thorough review of Frontier's filing. As you know, the FCC has identified nearly 215,000 locations in Ohio, including approximately 74,000 locations in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio. It is my understanding that Frontier's filing claims to have already expanded service to over 16,000 census blocks nationwide since the collection of Form 477 data in June 2019, which includes over 30,000 of the eligible RDOF locations in my Congressional district alone. As the intent of RDOF is to expand overdue broadband access in rural areas, it is critical that the FCC validate the accuracy of Frontier's claims and that the communities within these census blocks are in fact served to the FCC's required standards for service. It would be an unnecessary tragedy for rural Americans in these locations to remain underserved after the FCC has identified them as eligible for significant funding for needed broadband deployment. I've stated many times, if conducted properly, RDOF has the potential to significantly close America's digital divide by providing rural Americans with broadband access. I know that we share this common goal and I am confident that you will do everything in your ability to ensure RDOF is successful in accomplishing its objective. Thank you, again, for your leadership and for your attention to this important matter. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Laura Wilson on my staff at laura.wilson@mail.house.gov. I look forward to continuing the work you and I have begun to find real solutions to bridge the urban-rural digital divide and bring broadband internet access to rural America. Sincerely, Member of Congress MARIETTA OFFICE SALEM OFFICE CAMBRIDGE OFFICE IRONTON OFFICE 246 Front Street 192 East State Street 116 Southgate Parkway 202 Park Avenue Marietta, OH 45750 Salem, OH 44460 Cambridge, OH 43725 Suite C Ironton, OH 45638 (7401 376--0868 (3301 337-6951 (7401 432-2366 (7401 534-9431 T HIS STATIONERY PRINTED QN PAPER MADE OF RECYCLED FIBERS