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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 160 / Monday, August 23, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
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64. Just as the Commission declines to sub-prioritize other categories of carriers or equipment and services, the fact that the CAA itself does not expressly prohibit the Commission from including additional sub-prioritization categories for national security does not convince it that doing so is the correct policy decision. Instead, it could expressly frustrate the Secure Network Acts requirement that Reimbursement Program funds be equitably distributed amongst all applications. The Commission thus declines to prioritize equipment or services at particular locations or ahead of the prioritization levels defined by Congress.
E. Definition of Provider of Advanced Communications Service 65. The Secure Networks Act directed the Commission to establish the Reimbursement Program . . . to make reimbursements to providers of advanced communications service to replace covered communications equipment or services. The Commission now adds a definition of provider of advanced communications service in its program rules to match the definition Congress enacted in the Secure Networks Act, as amended by the CAA. This definition will clarify which entities are eligible to participate in the Reimbursement Program.
66. In the Secure Networks Act, Congress defined provider of advanced communications service as a person who provides advanced communications service to United States customers. Congress defined advanced communications service as the meaning given the term advanced telecommunications capability in section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 Telecommunications Act.
In the Telecommunications Act, advanced telecommunications capability means without regard to any transmission media or technology, . . . high-speed, switched, broadband telecommunications capability that enables users to originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, and video telecommunications using any technology.
67. The Commission has historically interpreted high-speed, switched, broadband telecommunications capability to include facilities-based providers, whether fixed or mobile, with a broadband connection to end users with at least 200 kbps in one direction.
In the 2020 Supply Chain Order, the Commission used this guidance to adopt a definition of advanced communications service for the Reimbursement Program. As a result, participation in the Reimbursement
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Program is limited to providers of high-speed, switched, broadband telecommunications capability that enables users to originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, and video telecommunications using any technology with connection speeds of at least 200 kbps in either direction. The Commission also clarified that, for purposes of the Reimbursement Program, a school, library or health care provider, or consortium thereof, may also qualify as a provider of advanced communications service, and therefore be eligible to participate in the Reimbursement Program, if it provisions facilities-based broadband connections of at least 200 kbps in one direction to end users . . . .
68. In the CAA, Congress amended its definition of provider of advanced communications service to specifically include accredited public or private non-commercial educational institutions providing their own facilities-based educational broadband service as defined in section 27.4 of the Commissions rules, and health care providers and libraries providing advanced communications services.
Accordingly, the Commission explicitly includes, in its definition of provider of advanced telecommunications service, accredited public or private non-commercial educational institutions providing their own facilities-based educational broadband service as defined in Part 27, Subpart M
of the Commissions rules, and health care providers and libraries providing advanced communications services.
Such entities are thus eligible for participation in the Reimbursement Program, provided they comply with all other relevant requirements, and are included in the first prioritization category if they have fewer than two million customers. No commenters disagreed with this proposal, and Northern Michigan University comments that it supports the amendment to the CAA by Congress to include accredited public or private noncommercial educational institutions providing their own facilities-based educational broadband service.
QCommunications, LLC also agrees, concurs and supports the Commissions proposal to . . . redefine the term provider of advanced communications service, adding: libraries, healthcare, and accredited noncommercial education . . . .
69. The Commission also clarifies that it limits the term educational broadband service as defined in Part 27, Subpart M of the Commissions rules to solely reference licensees in the Commissions Educational Broadband
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Service EBS. Commenters support this interpretation. For instance, Northern Michigan University argues that Congresss intent in the CAA is to allow EBS licensees who actively provide advanced communications services with the means to receive equipment replacement funds through the Supply Chain Reimbursement Program. USTelecom agrees that the definition of educational broadband service is limited, as indicated by the CAA unambiguously, to EBS licensees.
The CAA derives its definition from 47
CFR 27.4 which includes the licensing requirement as part of the definition.
The Commission agrees with these commenters that this limitation accurately reflects Congresss intent to limit participation in the Reimbursement Program to entities already licensed for certain frequency bands.
70. The Commission rejects USTelecoms position that although it might be argued that an EBS licensee with fewer than 2 million customers could be in category 1, it is apparent that such a result could not have been Congresss intent. USTelecom argues that all EBS licensees, even those with two million or fewer customers, should be prioritized after funding is distributed to all other advanced communications service providers with two million or fewer customers. This interpretation of the CAA is contrary to the plain language of the statute, which tasks the Commission with first funding all advanced communications service providers with two million or fewer customers, and defines providers of advanced communications service to include such EBS licensees. The Commission interprets the word all to include these EBS licensees who are otherwise eligible for participation in the Reimbursement Program, even if there currently exist no such providers who can claim more than two million customers.
71. The Commission does not expect the addition to the existing Reimbursement Program rules of a definition of provider of advanced communications service to have any practical effect on the number or type of carriers eligible to participate in the Reimbursement Program. The 2020
Supply Chain Order already provided that accredited public or private noncommercial educational institutions providing their own facilities-based educational broadband service as defined in section 27.4 of the Commissions rules, and health care providers and libraries providing advanced communications services would be eligible for participation.

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