The FCC yesterday adopted an interim cap on payments to competitive eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) under the Universal Service Fund (USF). The commission says it will pursue "comprehensive reform for the program." Sure. As Commissioner Michael Copps, one of two dissenting commissioners (Jonathan Adelstein being the other one), put it, real reform "is on the back-burner."
Before the FCC made its announcement, I had the opportunity to catch up with John Rooney, president and CEO of U.S. Cellular, who, understandably, feels very strongly about the topic. He was concerned the FCC would do exactly what it did, much to the detriment of rural communities that desperately need better telecom infrastructure.
It’s interesting that, as the Associated Press reported, AT&T had to agree to a cap as a condition of its acquisition of Dobson Communications last year, and Alltel agreed to a cap as part of going private. So, the (crafty) writing was on the wall.
We hear a lot of talk about how wireless broadband services help far-flung communities around the world actually establish commerce. But Rooney told me how he was practically treated like a king in one small Wisconsin town of about 500 or 600 people when the carrier put up a tower so they could get basic cellular service. Even in this day and age, some areas don’t have decent cell-phone coverage, and rural areas usually are not high on the list of big carriers because the population doesn’t pencil out for the network investment.
I don’t pretend to know all the ins and outs of the USF. I do know that politicians have been talking about USF reform for a number of years. Like a lot of people, I’m fed up with all the taxes that ratchet up my monthly cell-phone bill. That said, the last time I checked, the USF charge accounted for only 81 cents of the more than $7 in surcharges and government fees on my bill. The USF is horribly complicated and that’s probably part of the reason regulators are still talking about the need for reform, instead of just charging ahead and reforming it.
The great thing about technology is that it’s constantly evolving and improving. Just ask Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel and creator of Moore’s Law.
Consumers have become increasingly sophisticated and are demanding easier access to a broad array of financial services.
