The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau and ireless Telecommunications Bureau (Bureaus) have released a public notice with instructions on filing middle-mile network maps under the Alaska Plan. When the FCC adopted the 2016 Alaska Plan for high-cost fixed and mobile support in remote areas of Alaska, it also recognized the constrained broadband quality due to a lack of middle-mile infrastructure in these areas and authorized the Bureaus to approve support for various performance commitments from Alaska Plan participants. To ensure that such commitments keep pace with middle-mile network capabilities, the Alaska Plan requires participants to certify, submit and update fiber network and microwave network middle-mile maps covering eligible areas. The Bureaus provide specify the format of the middle-mile map submissions and supply instructions regarding location information for nodes and links in Alaska, including undersea cables located within territorial waters, connecting major nodes, outdoor cell sites, anchor institutions (e.g., schools, libraries, medical and healthcare providers), and terminating locations of links. Initial map submissions are due by March 1, 2018 in the HUBB (High Cost Universal Service Broadband) Portal.
