Dorgan worried USF reform will leave rural consumers behind

The Federal Communications Commission's plan to overhaul a fund that subsidizes telecom service to rural areas could end up leaving those consumers out in the dark, according to former Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND).

The FCC is set to vote on Chairman Julius Genachowski's proposal for shifting the focus of the $4.5 billion high-cost portion of the Universal Service Fund from landline phone service to broadband on Oct 27. Dorgan is worried that proposed caps on the total size of the fund as well as the amount individual carriers can recoup could dissuade telecom firms from investing in rural areas. "My concern is as we get closer to the end date, it appears to me that the answer to the question 'will rural areas be left behind' is going to be 'yes,' " Dorgan said, noting that in many cases rural telecom firms serve very few customers per mile of line. "If you build out the system to the rural reaches, you have to have a cost recovery system that justifies that," Dorgan said.