Rural telecom firms bash broadband plan in letter to Obama

A coalition of rural telecom firms wrote to President Barack Obama blasting the Federal Communications Commission's plan to overhaul a grant program aimed at connecting rural areas.

"Your administration has announced its commitment to broadband deployment and regulatory reforms that will spur job creation and overall economic expansion," wrote the heads of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, Organization For the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies, and the Western Telecommunications Alliance. "However, the FCC is preparing reform measures that will completely undercut such investment and growth by sidestepping the broadband issue while simultaneously cultivating an environment of continuing regulatory and economic uncertainty throughout much of rural America." The letter argues the FCC plan is inconsistent with the administration's commitment to reducing regulatory barriers for small businesses to boost job creation. They accuse the agency of pursuing its own agenda instead of working to assure all rural consumers have access to broadband.