TIA: Transition USF to Broadband

The Telecommunications Industry Association -- the trade association for companies that manufacture or supply the products and services used in communications across all technology platforms -- filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission saying the FCC, as part of the National Broadband Plan, should transition the Universal Service Fund from the existing "narrowband" funds to a Broadband Fund. Broadband support, TIA said, should extend beyond initial deployment in unserved areas, covering deployment in areas with little or no broadband service and the continued operation of existing broadband service. This transition -- if not immediate, then over a 5-year period-- must occur in a manner that is technologically and competitively neutral. TIA also supports creation of a Broadband Lifeline/Link Up program to improve broadband adoption in low income households.