By Matthew Lasar
Can the Federal Communications Commission save a huge government program that overpays carriers to provide old school phone service, overtaxes subscribers to subsidize it, discourages modernization, and doesn’t even offer broadband to the low income and rural consumers it purports to serve?
Yes it can, insists FCC Chair Julius Genachowski.
The Commission’s $8.7 billion Universal Service Fund and Intercarrier Compensation system was designed “for a world that no longer exists,” Genachowski told the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation on Monday. The USF was created “for a world with separate local and long-distance telephone companies; a world of traditional, landline telephones before cell phones or Skype; a world without the Internet.”
“Some say if USF is broken, we should eliminate it altogether,” he continued. “I reject that idea. While the world has changed, the importance of universal service to our connectivity and competitiveness has not.”
Tomorrow the FCC will propose massive changes to the USF program at its Open Commission meeting. Here are the details, along with our interview with Genachowski about the USF’s future.
Article Continued on ARS Technica…
Looks like Chairman Genachowski avoided discussing who would be the recipients of funds from the Connect America Fund. Although he seems to be against concentrating funds in the hands of a few carriers, I do not see the allocation process changing significantly unless Congress legislates something.
Related articles
- From voice to broadband: FCC redirects its $8.7B in phone bill fees (arstechnica.com)
- FCC Plans to Redirect Phone Subsidies to Broadband (pcworld.com)
- FCC chairman proposes changes to subsidy program (news.cnet.com)
