The FCC Needs to Protect Universal Service

Reforms to the Universal Service Fund, a service that helps connect rural communities, should be strengthened and expanded to encompass broadband connectivity. According to a column by former U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan on The Hill's Congress Blog, the USF faces new funding pressures that could weaken its reach across the digital divide.

The FCC is currently actively engaged in adopting new rules to modernize the Universal Service Fund to meet the broadband demands of a new generation of Americans. For millions of rural Americans, Universal Service is a lifeline for connectivity, bringing affordable telecommunications services to geographically isolated regions.

Connecting communities in rural settings is critical for expanding their economic potential, enriching education in schools and libraries, and connecting hospitals to a new generation of health IT.

Dorgan posits that a firm recommitment to USF principles by the FCC could reinvigorate these regions, while weakening services could fatally wound already struggling economies.

"The wrong decision by the FCC could be a disaster for the economic future of high-cost and rural areas. Without access to the latest and best telecommunications services, rural areas of our country will be on the wrong side of the digital divide, and consigned to a future without economic opportunity or development."

CWA supports a robust broadband network that connects Americans households and communities everywhere. Crossing the digital divide should be a national priority, and a focus of FCC reforms of the USF.

Will the FCC stay committed to rural America? (The Hill)