Federal Communications Commission FCC 18-37
STATEMENT OF 
CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI
APPROVING IN PART AND CONCURRING IN PART
Re: Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90 
Nowhere in America is the digital divide as stark as it is on Tribal lands.  Too many Native 
Americans today are on the wrong side of that divide.  That’s why this Order is so welcome.  To be sure, 
the particulars are indeed particular: the Order allows certain rate-of-return carriers serving Tribal 
communities to recover higher levels of operational expenses, given the unique and challenging 
circumstances that make it more expensive to serve Tribal lands.  But the end result will be 
straightforward: more and better Internet access for residents of Tribal lands.
Of course, more needs to be done.  That’s why, for example, the FCC recently agreed to solicit 
public input on the adoption of a Tribal Broadband Factor, which would provide additional financial 
assistance to carriers serving Tribal lands.  But the instant Order is an important one that will help bring 
digital opportunity to struggling communities.
To be sure, this Order is not the one I originally proposed over a year ago in February 2017, 
shortly after becoming Chairman.  Were the pen solely my own, I would have extended support to even 
more carriers that serve Tribal lands.  And for many months, we actually had three votes for this 
approach.  Unfortunately, our office was informed that one of those votes was set in quicksand, and 
would disappear were the vote actually called.  Therefore, in the interest of finally getting something 
done, I chose to find agreement with those commissioners who were willing to work in good faith on 
ways to help carriers serving Tribal lands.  The agreement we were able to reach—the agreement 
reflected in this Order—thus doesn’t help certain carriers that my original proposal would have 
benefited, such as Mescalero Apache Telecom, Inc. in New Mexico.