USF reformers mull wireless auctions, VoIP contribution

A House subcommittee is holding a hearing today to discuss proposed changes to the Universal Service Fund (USF) that include an auction process for wireless USF recipients, USF support for broadband and possibly requiring voice-over-IP providers to contribute to USF in states where their customers live. The draft under discussion by the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet requires the Federal Communications Commission, within a year of the proposed act's passage, to set up auctions for wireless operators providing universal service to high-cost rural and isolated areas. Auction winners would receive USF support for as many as 10 years before a new auction would be held. Auctions would take place only where there are at least three competing providers, and bidders' proposed minimum broadband speeds would be a primary consideration. Where there are fewer than three competitors, the FCC would continue supporting service line-by-line. The draft would allow carriers to apply USF to broadband deployment. Notably, though, the draft defines broadband as having download speeds of at least 1.5 megabits per second. That's about twice the speed at which the FCC defines broadband - 768 kilobits per second. The draft would also allow states to force companies providing communications services within their borders to contribute to USF, which could include companies that provide Internet-based voice-over-IP services.