Advisory board to the FCC: Designate funds for high speed Internet access

For the first time, a federal advisory board has recommended that $300 million of the Universal Service Fund be dedicated to high speed Internet support.  While this is an important breakthrough, $300 million is not enough to address the problem of rural high speed Internet access.

like fighting a bear with a fly swatter. Bringing broadband to the far corners of the nation is the central infrastructure challenge our country confronts right now. It is no different than the challenges previous generations of Americans faced to build the essential infrastructures of their times - the roads, turnpikes, bridges, canals, railroads and highways of centuries past. Broadband is our generation's infrastructure challenge, but we have fallen behind other nations in getting high-speed services out to our people.

The Universal Service fund is managed by the FCC and aims to connect rural areas with phone service at similar rates as their urban counterparts. Collecting a surcharge on long distance phone bills and defrays the cost of running a rural network for the companies, keeping prices for rural customers from getting too high.

Universal Service fund reform is a key part of the Speed Matters agenda.  Investing in high speed Internet and moving towards universal high speed Internet access is the right thing to do.

High-Cost Universal Service Support: Recommended Decison (FCC)

Rural Arkansas Ready for High Speed Internet Access (SpeedMatters)

Universal Service Fund (FCC)