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Universal Service Modernization
Barton sees Murky Future for Telco Bill
Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 21, 2006 - 7:45amLast updated: February 21, 2008 - 2:09am
The prospects of passing legislation this year that would help telephone companies more quickly get licenses to offer television service are "murky," House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) said Thursday.
Senate Panel Rallying Troops In Support Of Telecom Bill
Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 20, 2006 - 8:21amLast updated: February 21, 2008 - 2:07am
The Senate Commerce Committee quietly is rallying industry troops to lobby hard for passage of the massive telecommunications legislation adopted by the panel in late June after a marathon three-day markup.
Telecom Firms Explain Opposition To Cap On Universal Service Fund
Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 20, 2006 - 8:19amLast updated: February 21, 2008 - 2:07am
Telecommunications companies favoring changes to the fund designed to bring communications services to rural areas oppose a cap on the size of the fund.
FCC, Senate Committee At Odds Over States' VoIP Regulation
Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 7, 2006 - 7:52amLast updated: February 21, 2008 - 1:57am
If the Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006 (S.2686), passed late last month by the Senate Commerce Committee, becomes law, Internet telephone companies will be exempt from certain state economic regulations. But until then, the FCC ruled last week, states may conditionally regulate Internet telephony.
USF Cap Proposal Irks Rural Groups
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 27, 2006 - 8:16amLast updated: February 21, 2008 - 1:51am
Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), a longtime champion of rural telephone interests, faces potentially fierce opposition from rural phone carriers to his sweeping telecommunications legislation.
New CBO Report on Universal Service Fund
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 20, 2006 - 7:47amLast updated: February 21, 2008 - 1:47am
To encourage greater access to telephone and other telecommunications services, the Universal Service Fund (USF) provides financial support to some producers and consumers of those services. Spending for USF programs rose by 50 percent between fiscal years 2000 and 2005. Much of that increase went to support companies that offer telephone service in rural locations and other areas where the cost of providing such service is higher than the national average. This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) paper -- prepared at the request of the Senate Budget Committee -- examines recent trends in spending by the USF’s High-Cost Program, which subsidizes telecommunications providers in high-cost areas. The paper examines factors that may increase such spending in the future and discusses options to restrict the growth of outlays.
USF can provide cost-effective broadband access to every state
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 14, 2006 - 10:25amLast updated: February 21, 2008 - 1:42am
The centerpiece of S. 2686 is a program called Universal Service, which helps provide affordable communications services in every state. This bill updates the program for the digital age by using Universal Service Fund money to establish a $500 million account that will finance broadband deployment to unserved areas.
Senate Franchise Bill Markup Postponed
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 14, 2006 - 8:04amLast updated: February 21, 2008 - 1:41am
The Senate Commerce Committee is now scheduled to vote on the Communications, Consumers' Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006 June 22 instead of the 20th.
Universal Service safe through 2008
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 1, 2006 - 7:16amLast updated: February 21, 2008 - 1:28am
The Federal Communications Commission promised that past accounting problems would not affect subsidies for telephone and Internet services through 2008, including in rural and poor areas, Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) said on Tuesday.
Universal Service Fund Changes Mulled Amid Evolving Telecom Landscape
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 1, 2006 - 7:15amLast updated: February 21, 2008 - 1:28am
To many telecommunications customers, the Universal Service Fund, or USF, is one of several hidden costs of making long-distance phone calls. It is one of a handful of government fees that appear on each month's phone bill. Currently, customers pay a monthly USF charge based on how much they spend on long-distance charges. Now, however, the Federal Communications Commission is mulling a change to a flat-fee, numbers-based system that would charge everyone who owns a phone number a single monthly fee.
