Lawmakers Unveil USF Reform Bill for Broadband

In an effort to spur broadband deployment in rural, remote and low-income areas, a bipartisan pair of lawmakers has introduced legislation to overhaul the Universal Service Fund, the telecom subsidy overseen by the Federal Communications Commission.

The Universal Service Reform Act, authored by Reps. Rick Boucher and Lee Terry, would require recipients of the subsidy to begin offering broadband service, and would significantly expand the base of contributors to the fund. Enterprise Networking Planet has the details.

Two House lawmakers have introduced legislation that would overhaul the federal subsidy for telephone service to deliver broadband service to rural and low-income Americans.

Reps. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and Lee Terry (R-Neb.) on Thursday unveiled the Universal Service Reform Act (PDF available here), urging swift action on what they described as long-overdue reform.

Read the full story at Enterprise Networking Planet:


Lawmakers Move to Fund U.S. Broadband