Congress can’t just rely on free market principles in deciding ho...

Congress to make a value judgment about the impact of its choices on rural communities and rural customers as well as urban areas,” the paper said: “That value judgment is not always consistent with free market theories that elevate competition and economic efficiency above all else… There are important reasons for going beyond the limited economic analysis that free marketers tout… It is in the best interest of the nation to first ask what policies will promote the general welfare before assuming that laissez-faire is the best course of action.” For example, the paper said, “a regulatory regime is essential to the continued functioning of universal service programs.” The paper said universal service should have an overlay of federal law, because without it “contributions from providers would be difficult to achieve and regulators would be free to abandon universal service.” If Congress made universal service “a goal and not a mandate,” state regulators could create “arbitrary” definitions of universal service, supported services, funding methodology and administration,” the paper said. However, there’s room for improvement in federal law, the paper said: “The law needs to specify that emerging service providers that benefit from connection to the network must make equitable contributions to universal service, just like every other provider.” The paper also criticized the FCC for distorting the goals of universal service “by turning support into an incentive for ‘cream skimming’ and artificial competition.”