Why OPASTCO's National Broadband Plan challenge misses the mark

The Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies is threatening decreased network investment because of proposed Universal Service reforms.

Over a 10-year period, the proposal is to shift funds away from voice-only networks toward broadband networks, which would carry voice along with high-speed data traffic. Small telcos have been arguing for years that the USF should cover broadband. And at a time of severe economic problems when policy-makers were already concerned that the USF had grown too large, the idea of the fund growing even larger to cover broadband while leaving the existing voice-centric system intact was simply not going to fly. In other words, the proposed reforms aim to give small telcos many of the key things they wanted, while complying with widespread sentiment against more government spending. The USF isn't government-funded, but in the eyes of most consumers it amounts to the same thing. The government tells service providers (including the big guys) how much money they have to pay into the fund and consumers ultimately cover those costs through their phone bills. Viewed against this backdrop, OPASTCO's position looks like whining. What small telcos ought to be doing, rather than grousing about inevitable reforms (many of which are actually in their favor) is to best position themselves for the future envisioned in the National Broadband Plan. That means shifting voice service onto a broadband platform—a move many small telcos were planning for anyway as a means of helping their networks operate more efficiently. But according to the OPASTCO survey, as many as 55.8% of respondents could be on the wrong track if they truly opt to reduce network investment, preventing them from making this move.