Wireless Commenters Seek Wireless-Friendly Changes to FCC E-rate Rules
T-Mobile said its proposal for wireless-friendly changes to FCC E-rate rules, made in a March petition for reconsideration, are “unopposed, supported by all commenters who addressed it, and should be granted without delay.” Among the changes T-Mobile sought was clarification…
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of FCC guidance on how wireless local area network upfront costs are to be amortized for comparison to the yearly cost of mobile broadband service contracts. T-Mobile also asked the FCC to “seek comment on reasonable time periods for amortizing Wi-Fi networking equipment, given such equipment’s short useful life span, and provide a uniform and public template for cost-effectiveness comparisons” and to clarify mobile broadband isn't “necessarily duplicative” in cases where parts of the network lack sufficient Wi-Fi coverage and it's impossible or not cost-effective to construct a WLAN. “The record reveals no disagreement on the need to clarify the cost-effectiveness requirement for applicants seeking funding for mobile broadband solutions,” T-Mobile said in reply comments in docket 13-184. “The clarifications and reconsiderations that T-Mobile has requested are essential to ensuring that schools and libraries can continue to take advantage of the significant benefits of mobile broadband where it is cost-effective to do so.” CTIA filed in support of T-Mobile. “As the T-Mobile Petition correctly observes, the effective and efficient use of E-rate support requires a fair evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of services relative to one another,” the association said. “Schools and libraries participating in the E-rate program should be able to select mobile services when those services are the most cost-effective way to meet their connectivity needs.” The Competitive Carriers Association also said the E-rate program should support mobile solutions: "Rather than restraining the types of broadband services available to schools and libraries, the Commission should set objective performance requirements and benchmarks so that carriers -- both fixed and mobile -- can compete to provide E-rate services on a level playing field.” CCA said T-Mobile’s petition “offers common-sense clarifications that will improve the E-rate program and promote increased competition.”