It’s time bring US broadband subsidies up to world standards

[Commentary] Count yourself unlucky if you are a US telecommunications customer, because you have been funding a system that is far behind international standards.

It is time for the US to catch up with the rest of the world class for subsidizing broadband, especially if taxpayer money is on the line. International best practice carefully identifies areas where service is not commercially viable, requires service providers to compete for subsidies, and holds subsidy recipients accountable for results. Best practice begins with identifying smart subsidy and true access gap zones. The smart subsidy zone is those rural or high cost areas and low-income population groups for whom service is not commercially viable absent a one-time subsidy for initial investment. The true access gap consists of similar areas but with the added requirement that service isn’t commercially viable without an ongoing subsidy for operating expenses and maintenance. Competition for subsidies ensures that money isn’t wasted. Competition within a market tends to give the best results for customers, but this competition isn’t feasible in smart subsidy and true access gap zones. So the next best solution is competition for the market.

[Jamison is the director and Gunter Professor of the Public Utility Research Center at the University of Florida. He served on the FCC Transition Team for the Trump Administration]