Telecom Experts: Separate USF and Broadband Stimulus

At a BroadbandCensus.com event, telecom experts said government funding aimed at bringing broadband to unserved areas should go beyond the current Universal Service Fund, which mainly supports traditional telephone service in rural areas. Reforming USF involves several sticky issues, and the nation's broadband needs may exceed the available funding for USF. While efforts to convert the USF may continue, the U.S. government needs to make available a variety of incentives for wire-based and wireless carriers to bring broadband service to the entire U.S., said Gregory Rohde, executive director of the E9-1-1 Institute and E-Copernicus, a broadband financing consulting firm. A mixture of tax credits, grants and loans may be needed to bring broadband to the approximately 10 percent of U.S. residents who do not have it available, he said.