Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of The Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund Connect America Fund ) ) ) ) ) ) WC Docket No. 18-143 WC Docket No 10-90 FURTHER NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING Adopted: October 27, 2022 Released: October 28, 2022 Comment Date: (30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register) Reply Comment Date: (45 days after date of publication in the Federal Register) By the Commission: Chairwoman Rosenworcel and Commissioner Starks issuing separate statements. I. INTRODUCTION 1. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, “the major threat of disaster in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands comes from hurricanes, tropical storms, and drought.”1 In 2017, two hurricanes battered these Territories, causing extensive damage and loss of life.2 Although repair of infrastructure was critical, “simply putting vulnerable systems back to the way they were before they collapsed is not enough.”3 The outages, flooding, and landslides in Puerto Rico caused by the recent Hurricane Fiona4 demonstrate that infrastructure in areas prone to hurricanes must be built to withstand storm damage and have redundant capabilities. 2. In the aftermath of the 2017 hurricanes, the Commission committed to ensuring the restoration, hardening, and expansion of advanced telecommunications networks in the Territories by creating the Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund and the Connect USVI Fund.5 As part of these efforts, the Commission adopted a plan to support state-of-the-art mobile wireless networks, including the 5G 1. United States Department of Agriculture, Climate Hubs, Disaster Preparedness – Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands available at https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/caribbean/topic/disaster-preparedness-puerto-rico-and- us-virgin-islands (last visited Oct. 27, 2022). 2. Reuters, Puerto Rico’s death toll from Hurricane Maria raised to 3,000 (Aug. 28, 2018) available at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-puertorico-maria/puerto-ricos-death-toll-from-hurricane-maria-raised-to- nearly-3000-idUSKCN1LD2DK; CNBC, The U.S. Virgin Islands, devastated by Hurricane Irma, are in serious need of aid (Sept. 13, 2017) available at https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/13/the-us-virgin-islands-devastated-by- hurricane-irma-are-in-serious-need-of-aid.html. 3. NPR, 5 years on, failures from Hurricane Maria loom large as Puerto Rico responds to Fiona (Sept. 20, 2022), available at https://www.npr.org/2022/09/20/1123846384/puerto-rico-hurricane-fiona-hurricane-maria-anniversary (quoting Craig Fugate, former FEMA administrator). 4. Id. 5. The Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund, Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 33 FCC Rcd 5404, 5408, para. 13 (2018) (Stage 1 Order or Stage 2 NPRM) (establishing the two stages of the Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund and the Connect USVI Fund). services being deployed nationwide.6 For fixed broadband services, the Commission adopted a new, single-round competitive process to award fixed broadband support tied to defined deployment and public interest obligations over a 10-year period in place of the frozen support carriers were then receiving.7 With the effects of Hurricane Fiona clearly evident, we now seek to build on these efforts and ensure that carriers maintain and strengthen existing facilities while network construction and improvement continue toward the goal of bringing more advanced services to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (together “the Territories”). As explained below, we seek comment on proposals to ensure that mobile carriers continue to implement advanced telecommunications services and that fixed providers have sufficient resiliency and redundancy during the transition periods of the Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund and the Connect USVI Fund. 6. See The Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund, Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration, 34 FCC Rcd 9109, 9167, 9171-72, paras. 114, 122-24 (2019) (2019 PR USVI Order). 7. Id. at 9114, para. 10. 8. Id. at 9162-63, 9166, 9167, paras. 101-02, 111-12, 114. 9. Id. at 9166, para. 111. 10. Id. at 9162-63, para. 101. Subscriber counts were based on June 2017 FCC Form 477 data. 47 CFR § 54.1509(c); 2019 PR USVI Order, 34 FCC Rcd at 9164-65, paras. 106-07. 11. 47 CFR §§ 54.1509(c), 54.1514(b)(1); see also 2019 PR USVI Order, 34 FCC Rcd at 9171, para. 122 (discussing 4G LTE). 12. 47 CFR §§ 54.1509(c), 54.1514(b)(2); see also 2019 PR USVI Order, 34 FCC Rcd at 9172, para. 124 (discussing 5G-NR). 13. See Wireline Competition Bureau Authorizes Stage 2 Mobile Support for Certain Providers Participating in the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund, Public Notice, 35 FCC Rcd 6321, 6324, Attach. A (WCB 2020) (starting the support period in June 2020 for AT&T, PRTC, and T-Mobile in Puerto Rico, and AT&T in the U.S. Virgin Islands); Wireline Competition Bureau Authorizes Stage 2 Mobile Support for T-Mobile in Puerto Rico, Public Notice, 35 FCC Rcd 10303, 10305, Attach. A (WCB 2020) (authorizing additional mobile support in September 2020 for T-Mobile based on its acquisition of PR Wireless PR, LLC); Wireline Competition Bureau Authorizes Stage 2 Mobile Support for Viya in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Public Notice, 35 FCC Rcd 11555, 11557, I. BACKGROUND A. Mobile Interim Support 3. In 2019, the Commission adopted the 2019 PR USVI Order, which allocated additional support to the restoration of damaged mobile networks in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and to the hardening and deployment of modern, high-speed, and storm-hardened advanced telecommunications networks.8 The Commission adopted a three-year budget of up to $254.4 million for the Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund and up to $4.4 million for the Connect USVI Fund; these funds were intended to not only restore mobile network coverage to prior service levels, but also to foster greater access to advanced telecommunications for the Territories.9 4. The Commission provided eligible facilities-based mobile carriers a one-time election of funding for a three-year funding period with support based on their relative subscriber counts in the Territories before the 2017 hurricanes.10 An eligible mobile carrier could elect to receive: (1) up to 75% of its total support allocated in the 2019 PR USVI Order to restore, harden, and expand networks capable of providing 4G LTE or better services at outdoor data transmission rates of at least 10/1 Mbps;11 and (2) up to 25% of its total eligible support allocated in the 2019 PR USVI Order to deploy networks capable of providing 5G-NR service at outdoor data transmission rates of at least 35/3 Mbps.12 Nearly all eligible mobile carriers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands elected to receive 100% of their total eligible support to restore, harden, and expand 4G LTE and 5G-NR communication networks.13 Attach. A (WCB 2020) (starting the support period in October 2020 for Viya) (collectively Mobile Authorization Notices). 14 47 CFR §§ 54.313, 54.316, 54.1514(d), 54.1515. 15 47 CFR § 54.1514(d). The first deadline to submit reports is November 16, 2022. Wireline Competition Bureau Revises Reporting Deadlines for PR-USVI Stage 2 Mobile Recipients, Public Notice, DA 22-896 (WCB Aug. 29, 2022) (setting a deadline of November 16, 2022 for current support recipients to file their annual reports) (Stage 2 Reporting Deadline Public Notice). 16 47 CFR § 54.1513(b). 17 Id. The Commission provided that the mobile network coverage milestones will be determined in comparison to the network coverage areas prior to the hurricanes based on June 2017 FCC Form 477 data. 2019 PR USVI Order, 34 FCC Rcd at 9170, para. 119; see also 47 CFR §