Amend the amendment in section 10 in §9216 in subsection 6 in the first paragraph in the first line (page 5, line 9 in amendment) by striking out the following: " use" and inserting the following: ' provide incumbent local exchange carriers a right of first refusal to access'

Amend the amendment in section 10 in §9216 in subsection 6 in paragraph A by striking out all of the last underlined sentence (page 5, lines 31 to 33 in amendment)

Amend the amendment in section 10 in §9216 in subsection 6 in paragraph B in the 5th to 7th lines (page 5, lines 38 to 40 in amendment) by striking out the following: " or, if the authority verifies that there are no unserved areas within the carrier's service territory, that the funds will be used to increase available broadband speeds for customers within the carrier's service territory"

Amend the amendment in section 10 in §9216 in subsection 6 in paragraph D in the first line (page 6, line 5 in amendment) by striking out the following: " 36th" and inserting the following: ' 12th'

summary

This amendment modifies Committee Amendment "A" as follows.

1. It clarifies that incumbent local exchange carriers have a limited right of first refusal to access the broadband sustainability fund.

2. Committee Amendment "A" provides that funds not requested by incumbent local exchange carriers within one year are transferred to the ConnectME Fund but allows the ConnectME Authority to extend this time period. This amendment removes the ability of the ConnectME Authority to extend the one-year time frame. This amendment also provides that all funds remaining in the broadband sustainability fund one year after the broadband sustainability fee ceases are transferred to the ConnectME Fund.

3. It limits the use by an incumbent local exchange carrier of disbursements from the broadband sustainability fund to the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved areas within the carrier's service territory.