Posted on 02/08/2011 1:41:03 PM PST by LonelyCon
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Monday unveiled a plan to overhaul a much-criticized program that helps provide phone service to far-flung rural areas, proposing to focus it on expanding high-speed Internet access to those same locations.
The $8-billion Universal Service Fund is paid for by telecommunications companies, who must contribute a percentage of their long-distance revenue, often passing those fees on to their customers. The decades-old program has successfully spread phone service to residents in hard-to-reach areas that often are unprofitable for companies to serve, Genachowski said in a speech to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
But the fund has become highly inefficient, he said. In some cases, it pays more than $20,000 a year to provide a single home with phone service.
"The program is still designed to support traditional telephone service. It’s a 20th century program poorly suited for the challenges of a 21st century world," Genachowski said. "In its current state, the program is not getting the job done. It’s leaving millions on the outside looking in, and wasting taxpayer dollars every year."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
NOBODY pays for my internet, why should me and you have to pay for someone else’s?
The $8-billion Universal Service Fund is paid for by telecommunications companies’———
Really? Because every month on my bill I have to pay the Universal Service fee fund...
Hmmm, why not just wait a few years for commercial enterprise to have High speed 3G and 4G network proliferated the landscape, NAH, the gubermint can do it better...
>>They can’t regulate your thermostat . . without it.<<
Many of the NG armories in Texas are controlled by computers in Austin. That little idea played heck with their heat last week, when the main Austin building lost power last week. Almost everyone got half a day off.
It was mandated by goobermint and then the phone companies get to field the angry calls about “what’s this USF charge”...
Not to worry, you can apply for Telephone Assistance (TAP) and get all ,but your USF paid for by the same goobermint!!
So the FCC will raise my phone bill so the 16 people living in West Water Pump, SD can have broadband Internet for the 2 people in town with computers. It might be cheaper if we subsidized the building of a Starbucks in these rural communities so the residents can get free wi-fi with their coffee... after all these folks in rural areas don’t have access to lattees either. It is bad enough that we maintain full post offices in towns of 75 people.
When is da gubmint gonna start paying for free World of Warcraft??
They are chompin to collect sewage fees(even though you have a septic field), water consumption fees(farms use a lot, and I mean a really lot of well water), and there are programs being introduced where the utility rations your electric useage, limiting what you can have running at any given time. ie, if you are heating hot water, your furnace shuts off. If you are running the electric stove, the hot water heater will not switch on. If it is daytime, your lights will not work. Each family will be given an operating kilowatt budget controlled by smart meters and smart switches. This way everyone wins and you have “choices”(sound familiar?)
My God how insane! They could give them a satellite phone hookup for less.
NO MORE TAXES!!!!!!
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