USF Sustainability

Renewed legislation is in motion to address what has long been a consensus on USF: the current model is both unfair and unsustainable.

The Universal Service Fund covers some of the costs of:

• school and library connectivity
• rural broadband and telecom deployments;
• low-income connectivity;
• and a rural telehealth program.

Funds come from companies that offer interstate and international long-distance telecom services (i.e., voice services). Reasonable as a mechanism to assure universal land line phone service, but in this age of predominant broadband internet based communications, it's become outmoded.

New legislation seems to be in the works.

Speakers:

• Doug Dawson: POTs and PANs: Broadband for All Owner and President CCG Consulting
• John Windhausen: Executive Director, Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB)