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NEBSA Spotlight - FCC Adopts Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on 5G Fund for Rural America

The Federal Communications Commission has adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on establishing the 5G Fund for Rural America.  5G represents the next leap in mobile wireless technology, bringing significantly increased speeds, reduced latency, and better security than 4G LTE networks, and enabling cutting-edge applications and technologies benefiting consumers, businesses, precision agriculture, education, and healthcare.

The Notice proposes to distribute up to $9 billion through the Universal Service Fund across rural America for 5G wireless broadband connectivity.  The 5G Fund would help ensure that rural Americans enjoy the same benefits from the digital economy as their urban counterparts—more than 200 million of whom already have access to major providers’ 5G networks—and would include a special focus on deployments that support precision agriculture.

Link to FCC Press Release:  https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-363946A1.pdf