On Mar 6, 2010, at 2:50 PM, RickG wrote: > As a WISP, I resent the idea that my tax dollars may be used to compete with > me. > As a taxpayer, at what point will the government realize we cant > afford all this?
Ah, but we CAN afford it. It doesn't come from general tax funds but from the taxes on telecommunications services. It's got a specific source and a specific destination, basically. There is some hope here though-they've been talking about repurposing the USF for nearly a decade and it's never happened. I do think there is a higher chance of it coming to pass this time around, but it's hit a brick wall before so I would not call it a done deal either. Chuck > -RickG > > On Sat, Mar 6, 2010 at 10:25 AM, Marco Coelho <coelh...@gmail.com> wrote: >> FCC to propose revamping Universal Service Fund >> AP >> >> >> By JOELLE TESSLER, AP Technology Writer Joelle Tessler, Ap Technology >> Writer – Fri Mar 5, 5:25 pm ET >> >> WASHINGTON – Federal regulators trying to bring high-speed Internet >> connections to all Americans will propose tapping the government >> program that now subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural areas. >> >> The Federal Communications Commission will include a proposal to >> revamp the Universal Service Fund as part of a national broadband plan >> due to Congress on March 17. Although the proposal itself has been >> expected for months, Friday's announcement offered the first solid >> details. >> >> The FCC said it envisions transforming the Universal Service program >> over the next decade to pay for high-speed Internet access instead of >> the traditional voice services that it currently finances. The >> proposal would create a Connect America fund inside the Universal >> Service program to subsidize broadband, and a Mobility Fund to expand >> the reach of so-called 3G, or third-generation, wireless networks. >> >> "It's time to migrate this 20th-century program," said Blair Levin, >> the FCC official overseeing the broadband plan, which was mandated by >> last year's stimulus bill. "We need to move the current system from >> the traditional networks to the new networks." >> >> The Universal Service Fund was established to ensure that all >> Americans have access to a basic telephone line. Today, the program >> subsidizes phone service for the poor, funds Internet access in >> schools and libraries and pays for high-speed connections for rural >> health clinics. But its biggest function is to bring telephone service >> to remote, sparsely populated corners of the country, where it is >> uneconomical for the private companies to build networks. >> >> Funding for the $8-billion-a-year program comes from a surcharge that >> businesses and consumers pay on their long-distance bills. That >> revenue base is shrinking, placing the Universal Service Fund under >> mounting pressure even as the FCC seeks to use it to subsidize >> broadband. >> >> The agency's plan will lay out several options to pay for the >> proposals it outlined Friday, including one that would require no >> additional money from Congress and one that would accelerate the >> construction of broadband networks if Congress approves a one-time >> injection of $9 billion. >> >> Either way, Levin stressed, the proposal would not increase the annual >> size of the Universal Service Fund, but rather would take money from >> subsidies now used for voice services. >> >> The FCC would also seek to save money by subsidizing no more than one >> broadband provider in an areas. Some critics of the program have >> complained that wireless companies now overlay landline systems with >> new networks considered duplicative. >> >> Levin said Connect America would not favor one technology over >> another, be it cable, DSL or wireless. >> >> The FCC proposal also envisions revamping the multibillion-dollar >> "intercarrier compensation" system, the Byzantine menu of charges that >> telecom carriers pay to access each other's networks and connect >> calls. Any changes to the Universal Service Fund would also require >> changes to intercarrier compensation because rural phone companies >> tend to rely heavily on both funding sources. >> >> The FCC's latest proposals will be part of a sweeping national roadmap >> for bringing universal, affordable broadband connections to all >> Americans. >> >> Although the plan is due on March 17, the agency has already begun >> releasing details, including a proposal to make more wireless spectrum >> available for mobile broadband connections by letting television >> broadcasters and others voluntarily cede some airwaves. >> >> Some of the proposals will likely require congressional action, while >> others might be up to the FCC to implement. >> >> Yahoo article: >> >> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100305/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_fcc_universal_service;_ylt=AgSGtpiLKKQbXooR3LKvT.cPLBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTMzNGcwMmcyBGFzc2V0Ay9hcC8yMDEwMDMwNS9hcF9vbl9oaV90ZS91c190ZWNfZmNjX3VuaXZlcnNhbF9zZXJ2aWNlBHBvcwM3BHNlYwN5bl90b21ic3RvbmUEc2xrA2ZjY3RvcHJvcG9zZQ-- >> >> -- >> Marco C. Coelho >> Argon Technologies Inc. >> POB 875 >> Greenville, TX 75403-0875 >> 903-455-5036 >> >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >> http://signup.wispa.org/ >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org >> >> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >> >> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >> > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > http://signup.wispa.org/ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -------------- Chuck Bartosch Clarity Connect, Inc. 200 Pleasant Grove Road Ithaca, NY 14850 (607) 257-8268 "When the stars threw down their spears, and water'd heaven with their tears, Did He smile, His work to see? Did He who made the Lamb make thee?" >From William Blake's Tiger!, Tiger! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
