30 Years Later, The Details Still Matter

The House Subcommittee on Communications & Technology held a hearing recently on the Telecom Act of 1996—30 Years Later. This hearing came on the heels of a series of events in Washington (DC), over the past couple of months—including one hosted by NTCA—that offered up a mix of celebrating, ruminating and handwringing (sometimes all at once) over the continuing applicability of this landmark law. In advance of the hearing, NTCA submitted a letter to the Subcommittee highlighting the ongoing importance of sound universal service policies—backed by data points underscoring the difference that Universal Service Fund programs still make today in the availability and affordability of advanced services in rural America. This isn’t to say that USF programs shouldn’t evolve. In fact, they’ve already evolved substantially over the past 30 years, going from voice-focused programs to initiatives that underpin ongoing access to critical advanced connectivity for millions of rural Americans.