Time To Refocus The Universal Service Fund

TIME TO REFOCUS THE UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND
[SOURCE: The Digital Edge Blog, AUTHOR: John Mahoney john@thedigitaledgeblog.com]
[Commentary] There should be only one goal for the Universal Service Fund: universal Internet connectivity. Every other goal of the program will spring naturally from that. Money should be spent to deploy technologies like WiMax that can cost effectively address data connectivity needs in demographically sparse areas. After the initial build out, it’s possible that the fund could be scaled back to focus on a more narrow, tactical mandate, or eliminated all together as an open IP based infrastructure drives costs down and competition up. Hopefully, this would end up leaving the folks in urban areas clamoring for the same benefits their rural brethren would be enjoying through their open infrastructure. If it did, it could help us reach the tipping point that topples the antiquated gatekeeper/monopoly based telecommunications infrastructure we have today, and replace it with an IP based one that is open and competitive. One we can build a 21st century society on. Getting us to that point should be the real goal of “Universal Service."
http://www.thedigitaledgeblog.com/2007/06/11/time-to-refocus-the-univers...