The Future of Universal ServiceA Collaboration between the Benton Foundation and the Institute for Information Policy at Penn State University
As Congress and the FCC put universal service reform at the top of its telecom policy agenda, the Benton Foundation is supporting a series of papers advancing a new vision for Universal Service -- for making broadband as universal as telephone service is today and a pathway for retaking the lead as a broadband leader. This project outlines the policy rationale, the pathway forward, and the 12 key steps for advancing universal broadband and modernizing the universal service program for the information age.
Read an overview of the project.
Benton-supported Research
- Universal Affordable Broadband for All Americans Jim Kohlenberger, Benton Foundation. December 2007
- Where is the Link in the Lifeline? by Justin Brown, University of Florida
- Universal Service and the Disability Community: The Need for Ubiquitous Broadband Deployment by Frank Bowe, Hofstra University
- Time for Change: Transforming Funding for Broadband Universal Service by Richard D. Taylor, Pennsylvania State University
- Universal Service and Rural America by Sharon Strover, University of Texas at Austin
- Strategies for Repairing the Universal Service Fund by Rob Frieden, Pennsylvania State University
- Regaining the Lead: Universal Service for a Globally Competitive America by Jorge Schement, Pennsylvania State University
- “From all my teachers I have grown wise, and from my students more than anyone else:” What Lessons can the U.S. learn from Broadband Policies in Europe? by Amit M. Schejter, Pennsylvania State University.
- Universal access in the information economy: Tracking policy innovations abroad by Krishna Jayakar and Harmeet Sawhney, Pennsylvania State University and Indiana University.
- Libraries as Universal Service Providers by Nancy Kranich, KS Consultants and Fomer President, American Library Association
- The Future of Universal Service Fund Support for Organizations: Schools, Libraries and Rural Health Care Providers by Heather E. Hudson, Professor and Director, Communications Technology Management Program, University of San Francisco