A bipartisan group of senators has told Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski they support a proposal that would shift federal subsidies from landline phone service to broadband Internet access, according to a report.
“We support the efforts of the FCC to bring broadband service to communities across the United States, and we encourage the Commission to carefully consider industry proposals that accomplish the goals of reform and that lead to more fiscally responsible, sustainable, and effective programs," The Hill quoted the senators, including Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah, as writing.
Earlier this year, the FCC moved to reform the roughly $8 billion Universal Service Fund [based on 2010 unaudited numbers] in hopes of reforming an inefficient program and bringing broadband Internet coverage to the entire nation, including remote areas such as Indian reservations.
Genachowski said at the time that up to 24 million Americans cannot access broadband service because there is no broadband coverage in their area.
Over the summer, six leading telecom carriers that included AT&T, CenturyLink and Verizon, revealed plans to reform one of the universal service programs – the high-cost fund – by redirecting funds to deploy broadband access in rural areas where there is no business case for carriers to provide service, according to The Hill. The $4.3 billion high-cost fund ensures that consumers pay rates for telecom services that are reasonably comparable to urban areas and telecom carriers have received billions in subsidies to meet this objective.
The Universal Service Fund includes four major support programs, including a low-income program that makes basic, affordable phone service available to more than 7 million Americans. That program has dispersed $9.8 billion in subsidies alone since 1998.
But the FCC is keen on accelerating the transition from traditional circuit-switched phone networks to IP infrastructure, which can support a variety of services including voice and Internet.
