The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association wants to meet with President...
The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association wants to meet with President Barack Obama to discuss how recent FCC universal service reforms undermine the president’s “vision for the future of sustainable broadband in rural America.” NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield made the request…
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in a letter Thursday, co-signed by about a dozen managers of rural telcos and cooperatives. “We share your vision of universal broadband access,” NTCA wrote. “Unfortunately, mixed messages from the federal government now threaten to undermine our collective vision.” NTCA discussed the recent reforms to the USF, which it said “are throttling the predictable revenue streams needed to justify the business case” for rural telcos throughout the country, and to help repay stimulus and Rural Utilities Service loans. The “untested and unpredictable” caps on USF support are “undermining efforts by small businesses to engage in network planning and to deliver on your objective of sustainable rural broadband,” NTCA said. “At this critical juncture in our nation’s road to recovery, it would be unfortunate indeed to pursue a USF and ICC reform plan that injects regulatory uncertainty into the marketplace and calls upon small businesses to cut jobs and hike prices."