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Rural Telecom - page 3

The broadband needs for rural America are great. How will the nation meet the needs for connectivity throughout these areas?

Broadband's Impact/Universal Service

Free State Foundation Panel Calls for USF, Intercarrier Compensation Reform

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2011 - The Free State Foundation, a free-market think thank, assembled key industry experts Wednesday and pressed for the immediate need for reforms to the Universal Service Fund and Intercarrier Compensation systems. For the past year, the Federal Communications Commission has worked on updating the Universal Service Fund to handle the demands of broadband expansion rather than voice service. Keep Reading

Broadband's Impact/Digital Inclusion/Education/Expert Opinion/Health/Innovation/Universal Service

Expert Opinion: The New Market Frontier in Technology

Last year, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recognized the role of technology in strengthening this country’s economy by investing 7.2 million in funding into technology and broadband adoption initiatives through the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP). Through this funding the United States can build technology infrastructures and bring low-income residents online for the first time. However, technology in and of itself is not what is important. What is important is how people, families and communities use that technology to improve their lives. What will drive adoption and sustainability? Why will someone come online for the first time? What did we learn as an industry and society in bringing the first 100M on line that can help us in bringing the last 100M online? What is the real cost benefit analysis on people having access to information that directly impacts the way they manage their health, educate their children or plan for their financial future. I challenge all of us not to look at the cost of building these networks – but rather the cost of not building it. Keep Reading

Broadband's Impact/Expert Opinion/National Broadband Plan/Recovery Act/Universal Service

Expert Opinion: Broadband Adventures in Wunderland: The (Expensive) Myth of Competition

The National Broadband Plan won’t do jack until more folks in Wunderland acknowledge and aggressively address one stark truth – broadband competition is mostly a myth, expensively maintained through lobbyists, think tanks and easily-influenced politicians. Until we get meaningful competition, a significant part - though mercifully not all - of Wunderland’s policies will result in dabbling around the edges rather than a meaningful advancement of broadband in the U.S. Case in point: the misguided attempt by some of Wisconsin’s state legislators to prevent their state universities from using federal stimulus money to advance broadband is purely about AT&T clawing to maintain its near monopolistic hold over broadband there. In this and other states' legislatures we see cable and telco duopolies roadblocking federal and local efforts to get communities the broadband they want and need. Keep Reading

FCC/FCC Workshops/Universal Service

FCC Holds Final USF Reform Workshop in Nebraska

WASHINGTON May 20, 2011- The Federal Communications Commission held its final in a series of Universal Service Fund reform workshops, featuring key industry officials in Omaha, Nebraska on Thursday. One of the key reforms that the FCC has proposed in its USF reform proposal is the use of reverse auctions as a new mechanism for the distribution of funds. Keep Reading

Broadband Mapping/Broadband's Impact/Congress/Education/Health/House of Representatives/NTIA/Recovery Act/Senate/States/Universal Service

Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition Holds Broadband Summit

WASHINGTON March 30, 2011- The Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition assembled broadband stimulus award winners and government officials for their inaugural broadband summit on Tuesday to share solutions and success in solving digital literacy and adoption issues. The SHLBC, formed two years ago, comprises libraries, hospitals, schools, non-profit groups and corporations that seek to further broadband availability for community anchor institutions. Keep Reading

Education/Fiber/Health/Public Safety/Recovery Act/Tribal Broadband

Internet2 Upgrades Speed to 8.8 Terabits per second

WASHINGTON March 10, 2011 - Internet2, the nationwide ultra high-speed education network, announced that it will increase the network’s speed by a factor of nearly 900. The network's existing speed is already approximately 1,000 times as fast as a the fastest widely-available high-speed residential connection. Internet2 will increase its speed from 100 gigabits per second (100,000 megabits per second) to 8.8 terabits per second (88,000,000 Mbps). Keep Reading

FCC/Mobile Broadband/Universal Service

NARUC Panel Supports USF Reform

WASHINGTON February 15, 2011 - On Monday, the Telecommunications Subcommittee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners gathered a diverse group of experts to discuss the Proposed Rulemaking on Universal Service Fund Reform the Federal Communications Commission recently issued. Keep Reading

Broadband's Impact/FCC/National Broadband Plan/Universal Service

FCC Paves Way For Comprehensive USF Reform At Open Meeting

WASHINGTON, February 9, 2011 - The FCC adopted a measure during Tuesday's open meeting that lays the groundwork for revisions to the nation's telephone subsidy systems in the near-term and an eventual overhaul to transition those systems into building and supporting broadband infrastructure. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which was adopted unanimously by the Commission, draws a roadmap to reforming the Universal Service Fund (USF) and the closely related intercarrier compensation (ICC) system. Keep Reading

Broadband's Impact/Cybersecurity/Education/FCC/Health/Net Neutrality/Public Safety/Universal Service

Rockefeller to Focus on Fraud, Cybersecurity

WASHINGTON, January 24, 2011 – The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV), released his legislative agenda for the upcoming year on Friday. The senator plans to prioritize three broad areas: economic security and growth, proactive homeland security and consumer protection. “In the new Congress,” said Rockefeller… Keep Reading

Broadband Calendar/Broadband TV/FCC/Net Neutrality/Universal Service/Wireless

Congressional Action on Telecommunications Act in Question at Broadband Breakfast Club

WASHINGTON, January 20, 2011 - After 15 years of explosive growth and innovation in telecommunications since the last major revision, the 112th Congress is faced with the question of whether the law is keeping up with technology. On Tuesday, our panelists discussed whether Congress should consider another overhaul of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and whether it is politically viable to do so at 2011's first Broadband Breakfast Club. Keep Reading

Broadband Data/Education/FCC/Universal Service

E-Rate Report: Speed Problems Linger

WASHINGTON – A widely supported program intended to subsidize internet access for schools and libraries continues to fall short of its goals, according to a recent report from the Federal Communications Commission. The E-Rate program offers subsidies for schools and libraries to obtain broadband connectivity, but due to administrative hurdles most recipients respondenting to an… Keep Reading

Universal Service

Fifth Circuit Rules USF Contributions Income

TEXAS – Companies receiving state and federal Universal Service Funds (USF) must pay federal income tax on those funds, according to a judgment from the Fifth Circuit earlier this month. The appellate court upheld a summary dismissal from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas against AT&T on a claim for the… Keep Reading

Broadband's Impact/International/Mobile Broadband/Recovery Act/Tribal Broadband/Wireless

LTE Growing Faster Than Ever

Long Term Evolution is growing faster than any other mobile platform in history, according to a recent report from the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA). The GSA report includes both variants of LTE: Time Division Duplex and Frequency Division Duplex.  Mobile carriers are developing 128 networks in 52 nations and conducting another 52 trials. TeliaSonera, which… Keep Reading

Broadband Updates/Broadband's Impact/FCC/National Broadband Plan/Universal Service

USF Mobility Fund: Good Idea, Bad Choices

WASHINGTON, November 8, 2010 - A key policy goal of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s is the reform of the Universal Service Fund, which is a program designed to help bring communications service throughout nation. The recent National Broadband Plan proposed the creation of a mobile broadband fund to help achieve universal service by providing access to users in the most remote areas of the nation. In early October, the FCC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking which would launch this new fund. Keep Reading

Broadband Data/Broadband TV/National Broadband Plan/Recovery Act/Universal Service

Broadband Breakfast Club Considers Broadband Stimulus Efforts and Begins Evaluating its Impact

WASHINGTON, October 22, 2010 - Now that all of the broadband stimulus funding has been distributed, its effectiveness can now be evaluated. That was the message at the Broadband Breakfast Club on Tuesday, October 19. Video of the event was released on Friday. While the long term value of the stimulus is still unknown, panelists were able to gauge the way in which the funds were distributed. Keep Reading

Broadband Calendar/Expert Opinion/National Broadband Plan/Recovery Act/Universal Service

What Worked in Broadband Stimulus, and Why Washington Should Pay Attention (Updated!)

When Washington thinks about the "broadband stimulus," what should it remember? The federal government spent nearly $7 billion on new, broadband-related activities, that in many respects were completely unlike traditional federal telecommunications spending on telephone service. Tomorrow's Broadband Breakfast Club, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 19, at Clyde's of Gallery Place in Washington, will be one of the first post-stimulus forums to convene the major players and consider these "big-picture" questions. Registration for the event is available at http://broadbandbreakfast.eventbrite.com, and (for those outside of Washington) a free video of the event will be made available here later in the week. Keep Reading

Broadband Data/FCC/Universal Service/Wireless

Mignon Clyburn Expects FCC Universal Service Fund Proposals by Year-End

ARLINGTON, Va., October 2, 2010 – Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn emphasized the need for quality research in policy making, particularly with regard to reforming the universal service fund for telephone and internet connectivity. Speaking at the Friday evening dinner session at the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference, a top telecom research conference here, Clyburn also said that she expected the FCC to propose changes to the USF system, and to propose funding for universal broadband, by the end of 2010. Keep Reading

Broadband Updates/Broadband's Impact/Digital Inclusion/Education/FCC/Health/Mobile Broadband/National Broadband Plan/Tribal Broadband/Universal Service/Wireless

FCC Lays Out Plans to Overhaul Universal Service Fund

WASHINGTON, September 7, 2010 - The Federal Communications Commission late last week laid out part of its plan to reform the universal service fund, including pushing Sprint and Nextel to live up to their commitments to surrender their high-cost universal support over five years. Keep Reading

Education/Fiber/Health/NTIA/Public Safety/Recovery Act/Rural Utilities Service/States/Tribal Broadband

New Mexico to Receive $74.4 Million in Broadband Grants

WASHINGTON, August 16, 2010- New Mexico entities received a $10.6 million broadband stimulus grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and support for a $63.8 million project from the Rural Utilities Service of the Department of Agriculture. The NTIA grant will be given to North Central New Mexico Economic Development District to deploy a middle-mile project across three counties and five tribal areas. The project will directly serve 123 community anchor institutions, 19,227 homes and 1,332 businesses. "Middle mile" projects aim to expand the availability of broadband interconnections to companies and organizations that offer service to end-users. Keep Reading

Mobile Broadband/Net Neutrality/Universal Service

Google and Verizon Announce Joint Net Neutrality Policies

WASHINGTON, August 9, 2010- Google and Verizon have announced a joint statement of principles on network neutrality and hosted a conference call Monday to outline their effort to the press. Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg announced that this new policy calls for an open and transparent wireline internet with special conditions given to the “burgeoning wireless market.” Keep Reading

Public Safety/States/Universal Service

Rockefeller Attacks FCC, Calls for Change

WASHINGTON, August 4, 2010 –Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) attributed the aftermath of the Big Branch Explosion in West Virginia to “a troubling lack of communications facilities in our rural communities.” The cause of this void, Rockefeller argued, was the Federal Communications Commission’s model for reaching universal service. Keep Reading

FCC/Universal Service

Genachowski Calls Universal Service Fund ‘Broken’ in Speech to OPASTCO

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2010 –Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, speaking to the annual Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO) convention in Seattle yesterday, told his audience that he agreed with bipartisan critics of the Universal Fund as being “broken.” “As the math of the overall Universal Service Fund gets worse each year, the importance of broadband to rural America gets greater,” Genachowski said. “There is a clear need to reform USF – not to end it, but to reorient USF to directly support broadband all over America. “ Keep Reading

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