394
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Chairman Ajit Pai 
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn 
Commissioner Michael O'Rielly 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 12th Street SW 
Washington, DC 20554 
Dear Mr. Chairman and Commissioners: 
May 10,2017 
We recently met with representatives of Alabama's rural telecommunications industry. These 
companies have worked diligently to deploy broadband connectivity into many rural areas of our 
state. They did so with the assistance of Universal Service Fund (USF) public policy support 
and in a manner consistent with the Fund's goals. 
Our constituent companies report significant progress by the Commission on a number of issues 
that affect rural carriers. Mr. Chairman, though we understand there are many things left to do, 
we commend you on these advancements. 
We appreciate that significant action is pending with respect to a number of important matters. It 
is in Alabama's best interest that the Commission remain focused on finding ways to preserve 
rural USF support, both for carriers who have significantly deployed broadband and for those 
who are still attempting to do so in the face of challenging market and population demographics. 
A key component of this is your pending consideration of the "rate floor" mandate and its impact 
upon rural consumers. We support your intention to address the mandate as planned in your 
upcoming Open Commission Meeting. 
We thank you for your work on these important issues. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we 
may be of additional assistance. 
Richard Shelby 
U.S. Senator 
Sincerely yours, 
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER 
~V-~~~ 
Luther Strange 
U.S. Senator 
Mo Brooks 
U.S. Congressman