Senators Back New Broadband Taxes

[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
At a Tuesday hearing convened by the Senate Commerce Committee, several senators from largely rural states called for expansion of the Universal Service Fund (USF), a multibillion-dollar pool of money that's currently used to subsidize 1) local telephone service in rural areas, 2) telecommunications services schools, libraries and rural health care centers and 3) basic telephone service in low income households. Several senators said they want to make USF contributions "technology neutral," which for many means scooping up broadband services both as contributors to -- and benefactors of -- the fund. The debate reflects Congress's broader attempt this year to update the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which critics have deemed outdated because it fails to account for the explosion of the Internet.
http://news.com.com/Senators+back+new+broadband+taxes/2100-1034_3-604416...

* Internet Welfare Program -- You Pay, They Play
http://www.technudge.com/2006/02/internet-welfare-program-you-pay-they.html

* The Drumbeat of Universal Service
http://www.vonmag.com/webexclusives/2006/02/28_Drumbeat_of_Universal_Ser...

* USF -- The biggest mess of all
http://paulsblog.pulver.com/archives/2006/02/usf_the_biggest.html