US/ND-4: Re: new survey on allocation of Universal Service subsidies
Re: new survey on allocation of Universal Service subsidies
John Rademan (cradema@libby.litchpkeld.k12.az.us)
Wed, 18 Sep 1996 06:27:59 +0000
Richard Buro said:
> Until the most remote rural group has access, the provisions
> for Universal Service will not be realized. Priority should be given to
> unserved populations first, underserved populations second, and then to
> suburban and urban areas where services are more widespread.
How were the original telco's encouraged to reach the remote areas when
the first legislation was proposed in the '30s? Is there some way to
prioritize w/o bankrupting the new "mom & pop" network businesses
starting off on a shoestring?
This challenge is too great for infant companies to survive, so somehow
a mechanism to reach the remote areas needs to divide the costs among
all the competitors. We need to encourage healthy competition, not
enable powerful large corporations to extend their dominance.