“The Federal Communications Commission is considering a proposal to increase funding for its Rural Health Care Program, as demand is projected to outpace the available capital for the second straight year.
The FCC issued (PDF) a notice of proposed rulemaking and order last week that would provide an immediate boost to the program’s $400 million annual cap for fiscal year (FY) 2017, along with a longer-term proposal to increase the program’s funding limit. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai added the proposal to the tentative agenda for the agency’s next open meeting on Dec. 14.
The RHCP fund, which was established in 1997 to help rural providers get access to broadband internet, which provides the infrastructure for telehealth and remote monitoring programs. Historically, funding requests have come in well under the cap, but recently the FCC has seen a “dramatic increase” in funding requests both in…”
