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Nothing but the Truth: NTCA Witness says rural telcos need investment

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Can Congress handle the truth?

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Or more importantly, does the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet have any chance of finding the truth?

As debate continues over what role broadband initiatives will play in our economic recovery, at least someone is speaking up for the little guys, even if anger over former FCC economist Michael Katz’s dismissal of rural life simmers.

Greg Hale, general manager of Logan Telephone Cooperative (Auburn, Ky.) and member of the board of directors of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA), testified that cost recovery is a critical issue when it comes to ensuring universal broadband access, and outlined some specific policy recommendations for the Subcommittee to take up.

“Without adequate cost recovery there will be no network for any communications service to reach rural consumers be it wireline, wireless or other medium,” Hale said, according to a transcript provided by the NCTA. “We may well need to modify the program periodically, but the key is to have the network in existence and operational in the first place.”

Hales’ recommendations, almost as eloquent as Jack Nicholson’s self-defense, are after the jump. Hopefully they’ll win rural telecoms a happier verdict.


Greg Hale’s Recommendations:

  • Include broadband in the definition of universal service and expand the contribution base to include all broadband service providers while retaining revenues as the basis for assessing contributions
  • Affirm that universal service support should focus on providing consumers with affordable and comparable services and not be used to stimulate competition
  • Allow universal service and intercarrier compensation reform to occur simultaneously by reducing or freezing access rates and allowing carriers to recover lost access revenues through supplemental ICLS or IAS support.
  • Require recipients of any new supplemental ICLS or IAS access cost recovery to voluntarily agree to Title II regulation of their broadband services and to forgo the retention of excess earnings
  • During the transition from the PSTN to a complete IP broadband network require all IP/PSTN traffic, including Interconnected VOIP traffic, to pay applicable universal service, access, and intercarrier compensation charges
  • Require tandem switching rates and special access transport rates be cost-based
  • Strengthen the process for securing universal service eligibility (ETC status)
  • Eliminate the identical support rule and provide support based upon a carrier’s own costs
  • Reject ideas to distribute support via auctions, vouchers, or other untested means
  • Allow the program to operate as envisioned by lifting program caps and freezes
  • Remove this private program from the federal budgeting process.

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