Download or read book Universal Service written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Energy and Commerce. Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Reforming the Universal Service Fund for the Digital Age written by Daniel Lyons and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 11 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The federal Universal Service Fund program is in crisis. This observation is neither exaggerated nor controversial. Congress overhauled the program in 1996, ostensibly to assure that as the telecommunications industry transitioned from monopoly to competition, providers would continue to assist those who could not afford basic service. But in the fifteen years since, the fund has doubled in size to $8 billion annually, much of which is spent on projects having little to do with the traditional goals of universal service. The Federal Communications Commission has admitted that the system distorts investment in myriad ways, while the Government Accountability Office has criticized the program for an appalling lack of oversight. At the same time, advances in technology mean that the fund's cost is drawn from a shrinking base of interstate and international telecommunications revenue, which has caused the USF surcharge paid by consumers on all interstate calls to skyrocket from 3% in 1998 to 17.9% at the beginning of 2012. To the Commission's credit, it adopted a sweeping 750-page order in late 2011 that brought much-needed reforms to the High-Cost Fund, the biggest and most problematic portion of the Universal Service program. The Commission also began shifting the program's focus from ordinary telephone to broadband service, recognizing the importance of high-speed Internet access to modern society. But as significant as those reforms are, and as difficult as they will be to achieve, they represent only the first step toward the transformation needed. Over the next five years, the Commission should refocus the Universal Service program on what ought to be its renewed core mission: assisting consumers who cannot afford broadband access, through market-based, consumer-empowering initiatives that befit an increasingly competitive broadband marketplace. And it should abandon the antiquated and rickety contribution mechanism currently in place, by funding these initiatives instead from the general treasury.
Download or read book Universal Service Reform Convergence USF Policy for the 21st Century written by Derek Turner and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Congress is currently considering overhauling several key components of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, in the attempt to bring the law in line with recent advances in market competition and technology. One major area under consideration for reform is the Universal Service Fund. Many observers believe that the current universal service funding mechanism is both inefficient and unsustainable. Furthermore, the access charge regime -- an implicit universal service subsidy mechanism -- may also be in need of reform in order to face the realities of a converged marketplace. Despite the fact that broadband is viewed by many as the communications technology of the 21st century, under current regulations, only schools, libraries, and rural health care facilities are eligible to receive universal service support explicitly for broadband services. However, several legislative proposals currently under consideration in Congress would extend universal service to broadband. The impetus to expand USF to broadband is driven in part by recent data that show the U.S. falling behind other developed nations in measures of broadband penetration, speed, and price. However, a satisfactory explanation of this “broadband lag” is needed in order for members of Congress and the FCC to craft policies that adequately move the U.S. towards the goal of universal, affordable broadband access. This report employs comparative statistical methods to characterize and understand the differences in broadband performance between the U.S. and other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations. A key finding is that the U.S.'s unusually high poverty rate may be a major factor contributing to this country's increasingly poor international broadband performance. This finding suggests that extending USF to broadband may help ameliorate this disturbing trend. However, any proposal to reform USF must ensure that contributions are collected and distributed in a more efficient and equitable manner (compared to the current system), while at the same time adhering to the statutory goals of the program. This report examines the costs and benefits of several contribution reform proposals, and concludes that a numbers-connectivity contribution system would be far more efficient than the current revenue-based approach, and that most consumers would benefit under a properly designed numbers-connectivity system. The report also finds that one of the major economic justifications for universal service -- network externalities -- is most relevant when applying universal service to broadband. The report recommends gradually transitioning the universal service system away from the archaic voice standard, and towards a “bits” metric, where in the future all recipients of universal service support will be required to offer a broadband capable connection.
Download or read book Universal Service Fund written by Angele A. Gilroy and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report discusses the idea that all Americans should be able to afford access to the telecommunications network; this is commonly called the "universal service concept" and can trace its origins back to the 1934 Communications Act.
Download or read book The Universal Service Fund written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Universal Service Fund Reform written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Indian Affairs (1993- ) and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Universal Service Fund Reform written by United States. Congress and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-12-12 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Universal Service Fund reform : ensuring a sustainable and connected future for Native communities : hearing before the Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, second session, June 7, 2012.
Download or read book Telecommunications Regulation Handbook written by Hank Intven and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Discussion Draft of the Universal Service Reform Act of 2009 written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Energy and Commerce. Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Government Policy toward Open Source Software written by Robert W. Hahn and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2010-12-01 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can open source software—software that is usually available without charge and that individuals are free to modify—survive against the fierce competition of proprietary software, such as Microsoft Windows? Should the government intervene on its behalf? This book addresses a host of issues raised by the rapid growth of open source software, including government subsidies for research and development, government procurement policy, and patent and copyright policy. Contributors offer diverse perspectives on a phenomenon that has become a lightning rod for controversy in the field of information technology. Contributors include James Bessen (Research on Innovation), David S. Evans (National Economic Research Associates), Lawrence Lessig (Stanford University), Bradford L. Smith (Microsoft Corporation), and Robert W. Hahn (director, AEI-Brookings Joint Center).
Download or read book Universal Service written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Present and Future of the Universal Service Fund written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Connect America Fund Universal Service Reform Mobility Fund Us Federal Communications Commission Regulation Fcc 2018 Edition written by The Law The Law Library and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-10-06 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Connect America Fund Universal Service Reform-Mobility Fund (US Federal Communications Commission Regulation) (FCC) (2018 Edition) The Law Library presents the complete text of the Connect America Fund Universal Service Reform-Mobility Fund (US Federal Communications Commission Regulation) (FCC) (2018 Edition). Updated as of May 29, 2018 In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) resolves the remaining petitions for reconsideration regarding the requirements for Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II). The Commission revises the language of its rule for collocation, and reduces the value of the letter of credit that a Mobility Fund Phase II support recipient is required to hold after the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC), together with the Commission, has verified that the MF-II support recipient has achieved significant progress toward completing their buildout and service provision requirements. The Commission affirms its Mobility Fund Phase II rules in all other respects. This book contains: - The complete text of the Connect America Fund Universal Service Reform-Mobility Fund (US Federal Communications Commission Regulation) (FCC) (2018 Edition) - A table of contents with the page number of each section
Download or read book Replacement of the Legacy High Cost Universal Support Fund with a Connect America Fund Key Economic and Legal Considerations written by Christian Michael Dippon and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 15 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On April 21, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) and a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that seek the public's input on the FCC's effort to replace the legacy high-cost universal service fund (USF) with a broadband "Connect America" fund (CAF). In effect, the FCC seeks to implement cost-cutting measures for existing voice support (USF) and create a new fund (CAF) to support the provision of broadband communications in areas that would be unserved without such support or that depend on USF support for the maintenance of existing broadband service. An initial review of the NOI/NPRM raises a number of key economic and legal considerations. In the following, we identify some of the considerations, questions, and challenges raised by the FCC's USF reform attempt, which is likely to have far-reaching consequences not only for operators that currently rely on USF subsidies or broadband providers in high-cost regions but for the entire communications industry.The purpose of this note is not to provide an all-inclusive list of, or responses to, the critical questions raised by the NOI/NPRM, but rather to illustrate the complexities of this proceeding and the impact the proposed reforms may have on industry performance. As the CAF is necessary for the success of the FCC's National Broadband Plan (NBP), the policy directions taken by the FCC in establishing it are critically important. USF reform is also essential to the performance and competitiveness of the U.S. communications industry and policy missteps could have serious economic and legal consequences.
Download or read book Universal Service The high cost fund written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Energy and Commerce. Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Universal Service Fund written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Universal Service written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
