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Jan. 28, 2008

The Federal Communications Commission is reportedly preparing to release plans to reform the Universal Services Fund.

The program is a government-subsidized initiative created to offset the cost of providing telecommunications to rural communities, libraries and schools.

The FCC will announce three possible suggestions that could radically overhaul the USF, according to various reports.

The first modification would be reverse auctions: Companies would bid to offer services to a specific area, and the winning party would be the company that bids the lowest in terms of how much assistance it would require to offer services in that area.

Currently, multiple companies can receive assistance for providing service to one area.

The second proposed change would alter the amount of financial support wireless companies receive. Currently, wireless companies earn the same amount as wireline service providers, though costs for the different types of infrastructure are very different.

The third and final modification would earmark a portion of the fund to help pay for deploying broadband Internet networks across the U.S.

The fund currently doesn't allow for spending on broadband services.

Not all members of the FCC agree about each proposal, and there will most likely be many arguments from members of the wireless industry.

The FCC report also cited several other reforms circulating the commission, but none have enough support yet to be released, at least not on a wide-scale basis.

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Source: The Federal Communications Commission

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