Nearly all of the telcos that have borrowed from the...
Nearly all of the telcos that have borrowed from the Rural Utilities Service receive high-cost Universal Service Fund support, RUS said in an analysis (http://xrl.us/bk3xqr). Of the 480 companies that have borrowed for telecom infrastructure, 476, or 99 percent of…
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them, receive interstate universal service cash, the RUS said. More than 70 percent of RUS’ borrowers rely on universal service for more than a quarter of their operating revenue, RUS said. A 5 percent reduction in universal service cash would strand some 98 borrowers, representing nearly $794 million in loans, RUS said. The three largest rural telecom associations, calling themselves the Save Rural Broadband alliance, seized on the RUS filing, saying it was “independent confirmation of a point Save Rural Broadband has long argued -- the FCC’s USF reforms will force many rural broadband providers to either delay their deployment of broadband services or go out of business.” Rural carriers made a separate peace with bigger incumbents last week and filed a “complementary” brief with the USTelecom-brokered industry agreement (CD Aug 1 p1). A spokesman for the three associations said the RUS filing had no bearing on the incumbent compromise.