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News SectionCategories: All FCC Comments Letters News Articles OP-EDS Press Releases Comments of the National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc.; National Telecommunications Cooperative Associations; Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies; and the Western Telecommunications Alliance (38 pages)
Today, the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA), the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA), the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO) and the Western Telecommunications Alliance (WTA), filed reply comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) calling on the FCC to adopt the Rural Rate-of-Return Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (RLEC) Plan, as amended by the broader industry “Consensus Framework” submitted to the FCC on July 29, 2011, without further modification.
Small towns in Wyoming rely on rural broadband. Read the letter to the editor that Bill Guthrie of the Dubois Telephone Exchange wrote the Dubois Frontier.
A new proposal by the Federal Communications Commission to reform the way rural telecommunications services are supported has small rural telephone companies like Tri-County Telephone Association, Council Grove, concerned about the future of telecommunications services in their areas.
Under proposed changes, rural telephone companies would receive less funding, and large companies would receive more.
Imagine the effect nationwide on food prices should the expense to live in rural America increase. But what do food prices have to do with telecommunications? More than you can imagine.
Recently, the Federal Communications Commission proposed rule changes to the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation rates. While this means little to the average consumer, the effect could be monumental for rural residents. These two items provide significant revenue for communications companies that serve small towns and rural areas. Without access to these funds, it would be difficult for rural telecommunication companies to affordably provide services to rural areas across our state.
Think of farms and images of tractors and combines come to mind. But what about laptops, smart phones and tablets?
The number of farmers with Internet access on a variety of digital gadgets has dramatically increased, changing the way farms do business. Farmers say they're increasingly using the Net to speed up their work flow, improve their farming techniques, market their crops, connect with customers and retailers, and fulfill a variety of regulatory requirements.
Rural Iowans for years have enjoyed the same service and rates as Iowans who live in bigger cities -- because the federal government requires it.
But it's no secret in the telecom world -- rural areas are much more expensive to service per customer because people are so spread out.
There is a revolution happening in the telecommunications/broadband world fueled by bold investments, innovation and new products. The revolution expands opportunities for our rural Montana communities to connect to the outside world. It also enhances economic development, educational opportunities, advancements in health care and maintains our quality of life.
At the same time, there is action pending before the Federal Communication Commission that poses a real threat to rural Montana.
I was fortunate to participate in President Obama's White House Rural Council meeting in Peosta, and I was especially interested given the council's recognition that rural broadband deployment is critical to economic success and job creation.
However, I worry that President Obama's agencies are sending very mixed signals about the future of broadband access in rural America.
The road to get agricultural businesses on the Internet has been a long one.
As the push continues to expand broadband Internet and cell phone service to all corners of Vermont, those who live in areas with sparse population are often left for last — and farms, by virtue of their need for open space, are likely to be in areas of sparse population.
But as a new generation takes over farming operations, and as broadband and mobile Internet access expands to more areas of the state, farmers are increasingly incorporating the Internet into their day-to-day business routines.
Today, the Rural Telecom Associations, composed of the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA), the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA), the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO) and the Western Telecommunications Alliance (WTA), filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) calling on the Commission to adopt the Rural Rate-of-Return Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (RLEC) Plan, as amended by the “Consensus Framework” submitted to the FCC on July 29, 2011. The amended RLEC Plan is a path forward for Universal Service Fund (USF) and intercarrier compensation (ICC) reform in RLEC service areas that not only serves the interests of consumers in these areas, but also consumers nationwide.
Comments of the National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc.; National Telecommunications Cooperative Associations; Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies; and the Western Telecommunications Alliance (61 pages)
The Federal Communications Commission could soon be issuing new rules that would affect telephone and internet providers across Iowa. The FCC is considering a revamp of the universal service fund, which accounts for up to 70 percent of revenue for some smaller companies. And that's why changes to the fund are concerning for phone and internet providers.
Phone and internet are two communication services that make the world go ‘round. Even as more people switch to cell phones to meet their calling and web needs, wireless companies to deliver those services. And part of how those companies keep your services running, comes through money you pay into the universal service fund or USF.
Some of Iowa’s old-line local phone companies say they are stuck in limbo while the Federal Communications Commission plans an overhaul of the Universal Service fund to bridge the “digital divide."
The phone companies fear a drastic cut in revenue from the federal Universal Service fund, a surcharge on phone bills that is used to mainly to subsidize service mainly to remote rural areas and low-income households, and a cut in the access charges large carriers pay to terminate calls on the local phone companies’ networks.
This week President Obama is traveling to Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois on a three-day economic bus tour to discuss ways to grow the economy, strengthen the middle class, and increase employment in rural America.
It is a worthy goal, given the importance of rural America to the economy. However, when it comes to the Obama administration promoting broadband development in rural America -- a prerequisite for economic growth -- the left hand may not know what the right hand is doing. The Obama administration is sending decidedly mixed signals about its view of telecom and broadband access in rural areas.
Over the past few years, we have seen a proliferation of telecommunications services that were once only thought of in the world of science fiction. These services have made our lives significantly easier and more productive.
Broadband has made it possible for a farmer to get the latest agriculture prices in real time and has opened a world of possibilities to a local businessman with a great product to sell. Moreover, access to real broadband also allows us to attract interest, and jobs, from larger companies that help keep local communities viable.
But the technology that makes these tools available for rural consumers is under threat this summer unless we all take action.
The president of Iowa Telecommunications Association spent Tuesday at the president’s economic forum in Peosta pushing his message about the need for rural broadband access. Dave Duncan says he was able to bring out his concerns during a breakout session.
When the telephone was introduced in America many decades ago, there were real questions about whether small towns and family farms would ever be able to get telephone service. The companies selling telephone service in the big cities said it was too expensive to string telephone wires to small towns and farms. They said they couldn't make a profit serving sparsely populated areas in rural America.
But the government stepped in and said that telephone service was an "essential service" and it should be made available at an affordable price to all Americans. The federal government called it a commitment to a principle called "Universal Service" and they established a fund to make telephone service affordable in rural areas. It meant that no matter where you live, even in the most rural reaches of our country, you should have access to the same telecommunication services available to the people in the bigger cities. Over the many decades it has been a great success.
Businesses, restaurants and bars all have their "regulars," but libraries have them, too. They come several times per week, or even every day, perhaps on their lunch hour. They come for the Internet access. They come because they don't have a computer at home, or they can't afford to connect it to the Internet.
"There still remains a digital divide - people who have, and people who have not," said Susan Henricks, library director at the Carnegie-Stout Public Library in Dubuque.
In March 2010, the Federal Communications Commission unveiled its National Broadband Plan, which aims to change that. It is anticipated that final rules for the plan will be released in October or November.
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