Long Term Universal Service Reform Includes Focus on Broadband

LONG TERM UNIVERSAL SERVICE REFORM INCLUDES FOCUS ON BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Joint Board is taking a fresh look at high-cost universal service support. The Joint Board has tentatively agreed that: 1) Support mechanisms for the future will focus on: a. Voice, b. Broadband, and c. Mobility. 2) In addition to the principles set forth in the statute, support mechanisms for the future will be guided by the following principles: a. Cost control, b. Accountability, c. State participation and d. Infrastructure build out in unserved areas. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said, "The Joint Board's decision is a historic step forward. At long last we are starting down the road of making broadband the central focus of universal service for the 21st century. High-speed, high value broadband isn't a luxury any more - it's a necessity, and universal service ought to be driving its deployment into every house and business in America."
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07J-3A1.doc

* FCC Commissioner Michael Copps
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-276474A1.doc