NTCA: Unsubsidized rural carriers should provide reasonably priced broadband, voice services

A number of service providers may have set the amount of money they will accept from the second phase of the Federal Communications Commission's Connect America Fund (CAF-II), but the National Telephone Cooperative Association - The Rural Broadband Association (NTCA) said that the regulator should require that non-subsidized carriers be required to provide reasonably priced broadband and voice services. In a filing with the FCC, the NTCA asked the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau to ensure that the specific process to determine if "unsubsidized competition" can be validated or denied be done with a process that's "data driven and applied faithfully consistent with the underlying requirement that ties the analysis of competition to specific, individual locations."

The NTCA said that the reporting process should focus on three main areas: providing wireline voice services, providing standalone voice at reasonably competitive rates, and reasonably priced wireline broadband service. If a service provider is offering a standalone voice side, the NTCA says that service providers should not require consumers to purchase more expensive "service bundles" to get access to 911 and E-911 services.