But USF comes from the ratepayers of the telecom services, not tax dollars.
Brian -----Original Message----- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org]on Behalf Of RickG Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2010 2:50 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] USF Changes 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? -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=X3oDMTMzNGcwMmcyBGFzc2V0Ay9hcC8yMDEw MDMwNS9hcF9vbl9oaV90ZS91c190ZWNfZmNjX3VuaXZlcnNhbF9zZXJ2aWNlBHBvcwM3BHNlYwN5 bl90b21ic3RvbmUEc2xrA2ZjY3RvcHJvcG9zZQ-- > > -- > 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/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! 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