CONGRESS IS TOLD IT SHOULD FOCUS ON COST TO BRIDGE DIVIDE
Addressing cost of deploying high-speed Internet access in rural areas should be primary concern of Congress, rather than focusing on bolstering competition in rural and underserved areas, rural carrier executive told joint House Small Business Committee panel Thurs. Testifying before Regulatory Reform & Oversight and Rural Enterprises subcommittees, Sully Buttes Telephone Co-op GM Randy Houdek cautioned against encouraging “competition for the mere sake of competition” in rural and “frontier” areas of states such as N.D. He instead suggested that Congress lift caps on how much high-cost support individual carriers could receive through universal service program. He also urged members to seek full support for Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Telecommunications program, which he said had enabled rural ILECs to “serve areas that are viewed as economically unattractive by the industry’s largest carriers.”
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“Regardless of the technology used to provide advanced services, cost will always be a major factor,” Houdek said. “It is critical that policymakers here in Washington understand this fact and remain willing to support programs such as the RUS or the universal service system. There will always be upgrades and new technologies that are necessary to ensure consumers are receiving the most advanced services of the era.”
Houdek also expressed skepticism about allowing wireless providers to become eligible for piece of universal service fund, which he said might affect viability of rural ILECs: “Congress and the FCC must recognize the sensitivity of rural ILECs to changes to their revenue streams. Rural ILECs like Sully Buttes have taken on the responsibility of being the ‘carrier of last resort’ and have a decades-long track record of being committed to serving their rural communities.”
However, Western Wireless Senior Vp Thorpe Kelly said his company had “aggressively pursued entry into the universal service market,” move that he said would enable wireless broadband carrier to better serve basic and advanced communications needs or rural areas.
“Until recently, financial support in the form of universal service was made available only to the [ILEC] with the hope that this carrier would provide basic and advanced communications services that consumers want,” Kelly said. “It has become increasingly clear that in many rural areas the delivery of advanced services will not come to fruition without competition.”