March 17, 2020 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has released a preliminary list of census blocks that have been deemed initially eligible for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction (Auction 904).[1] Interested parties have an opportunity to identify by April 10, 2020, any of the listed census blocks that should not be eligible for support.

To help prospective auction participants, the Bureau has also released list of associated census block groups and reserve prices, and a list of the associated census tracts and reserve prices. The list of census blocks, census block groups, and census tracts can be found on the Auction 904 website: www.fcc.gov/auction/904. A map of initially eligible areas is available at https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/maps/auction-904-preliminary-eligible-areas.

Which Census Blocks Are Initially Eligible?

Phase I of the RDOF will target support to census blocks that are wholly unserved with broadband service at speeds of at 25/3 Mbps. In the February 2020 RDOF Report and Order, the FCC directed the Wireline Competition Bureau to compile a preliminary list of eligible areas.[2]

To identify the preliminary eligible areas, the Bureau used the Connect America Cost Model (CAM) with updated coverage data using the most recent publicly available Form 477 data to identify census blocks that are unserved with broadband at speeds of at least 25/3 Mbps. The preliminary list of census blocks includes census blocks located in price cap carrier territories that, based on June 30, 2019 Form 477 data, are not served by the incumbent price cap carrier or an unsubsidized competitor with voice and broadband at speeds of 25/3 Mbps or higher and that fall into one of the following groups:

• Census blocks for which price cap carriers currently receive CAF Phase II model-based support;

• Any census blocks that were eligible for, but did not receive, winning bids in the CAF Phase II auction;

• Any census blocks where a CAF Phase II auction winning bidder has defaulted;

• Census blocks excluded from the offers of model-based support and the CAF Phase II auction because they were served with voice and broadband of at least 10/1 Mbps

• Census blocks served by both price cap carriers and rate-of-return carriers to the extent that the census block is in the price cap carrier’s territory, using the most recent study area boundary data filed by rate-of-return carriers to identify their service areas and determine the portion of each census block that is outside this service area;

• Any unserved census blocks that are outside of price cap carriers’ service areas where there is no certified high-cost eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) providing service, such as the Hawaiian Homelands, and any other populated areas unserved by either a rate-of-return or price cap carrier.

The preliminary list of census blocks does not include the following:

• Census blocks where a winning bidder in the CAF Phase II auction is obligated to deploy voice and broadband service;

• Census blocks where a Rural Broadband Experiment support recipient is obligated to offer at least 25/5 Mbps service over networks capable of delivering 100/25 Mbps;

• The portions of any census blocks substantially overlapped by an award funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect Program.

For each census block, the preliminary list identifies the relevant state abbreviation, county name and the census block identification number (15-digit Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code). For each census block group or census tract, the list identifies the census block group or census tract identification number, the relevant state abbreviation, the county name, the number of locations that are eligible for RDOF Phase I support, and the reserve price rounded to the nearest dollar. The published support amounts are only for illustrative purposes, and the Bureau notes that available support may be different based on changes in the final eligible areas list.

Challenges To The Preliminary List Of RDOF Phase I Eligible Census Blocks

The Bureau’s release of the eligible areas list kicks off a limited challenge process giving interesting parties an opportunity to identify by April 10, 2020, any of the listed census blocks that should not be eligible for support. Parties may challenge census blocks that fall into one of the three following categories:

FCC Form 477 Filers – Current FCC Form 477 filers should identify as ineligible any census blocks that have become served with voice and 25/3 Mbps or better broadband services since June 30, 2019, in order to address the lag between the time when areas became served and the time that service is reflected in publicly available Form 477 data.

Subsidized Census Blocks – Parties are invited to identify specific census blocks that have been awarded funding by a federal or state broadband subsidy.

Rate-of-Return Carriers – Rate-of-return carriers have the opportunity to identify any census blocks within their service areas as ones where they do not expect to extend broadband in satisfaction of their USF deployment obligations; i.e., moving census blocks from ineligible to potentially eligible, subject to other eligibility criteria.

The Bureau will not entertain challenges from parties seeking to establish that a census block is unserved if the census block is reported as served on a certified Form 477 as of June 30, 2019 or later. Challenges must be filed on or before April 10, 2020. All filings are to reference WC Docket No. 19-126, and may be filed using the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) or by filing paper copies.

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[1] Wireline Competition Bureau Releases Preliminary List And Map Of Eligible Areas For The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I Auction, AU Docket No. 20-34, WC Docket No. 19-126, WC Docket No. 10-90, Public Notice, DA 20-275 (Mar. 17, 2020), https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-20-275A1.pdf.

[2] In the February 2020 RDOF Report and Order, the FCC directed the Wireline Competition Bureau to compile a preliminary list of eligible areas that include the following: (1) the census blocks for which price cap carriers currently receive Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II model-based support; (2) any census blocks that were eligible for, but did not receive, winning bids in the CAF Phase II auction; (3) any census blocks where a CAF Phase II auction winning bidder has defaulted; (4) the census blocks excluded from the offers of model-based support and the CAF Phase II auction because they were served with voice and broadband of at least 10/1 Mbps; (5) census blocks served by both price cap carriers and rate-of-return carriers to the extent that the census block is in the price cap carrier’s territory, using the most recent study area boundary data filed by the rate-of-return carriers to identify their service areas and determine the portion of each census block that is outside this service area; (6) any unserved census blocks that are outside of price cap carriers’ service areas where there is no certified high-cost eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) providing service, such as the Hawaiian Homelands, and any other populated areas unserved by either a rate-of-return or price cap carrier; and (7) any census blocks identified by rate-of-return carriers in their service areas as ones where they do not expect to extend broadband (as we did with the CAF Phase II auction). Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, WC Docket No. 19-126, Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90, Report And Order, FCC 20-5, ¶12 (Feb. 7, 2020).