WASHINGTON-Federal Communications Commission member Harold Furchtgott-Roth, joining a growing chorus of critics, has charged the Democratic-led agency with subordinating the interests of rural and low-income universal service recipients to connecting schools, libraries and rural-health care facilities to the Internet by 2000.
Rural and low-income “universal service is not just one of many objectives of (the 1996 telecom act); it is the highest,” said Furchtgott-Roth in his dissenting statement to the FCC’s universal report to Congress April 10.
Key Republicans in Congress, like Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), have suggested the Internet initiative is motivated by 2000 presidential politics. That is the year Vice President Gore, a big booster of Internet links for schools, libraries and hospitals, is expected to run for president.
In the report, the FCC defended assessing universal fees on wireless carriers despite the fact that some, like paging operators, are not in a position to draw on the multibillion dollar subsidy pool.
The universal-service fund program also appears to discriminate against wireless carriers, which can offer Internet links in older schools and buildings without potential infrastructure and health risks that traditional wiring may pose.
“The FCC must take action to resolve these pressing issues, which are adversely impacting wireless carriers,” said Jay Kitchen, president of the Personal Communications Industry Association.
Tim Ayers, a spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, said the FCC’S universal-service policy is part of broader problem of hidden taxes and mandates imposed by city, state and federal governments.
Furchtgott-Roth, a Republican who helped craft the telecom act as a former economist on the House Commerce Committee, said that “rural, high-cost universal-service issues should not be resolved and implemented in some dim and distant future after all other universal-service issues have been resolved; rural, high-cost universal service issues should be resolved and implemented first.” Furchtgott-Roth uses the term “high cost,” to mean areas where it would cost more to deploy telephony. The service actually would be subsidized to end users.
In addition, the FCC commissioner took aim at the FCC’s vow last year to fund the agency-created Schools and Libraries Corp.-“an entity of questionable legal status”-at $2.25 billion a year. “It is an arbitrary target,” Furchtgott-Roth said, “one that the FCC could equally well, and with equal legal authority, have set at $22.5 million, or $225 million, or $22.5 billion, or $225 billion.”
FCC support for universal support of educational and health care-related Internet connections is opposed by Furchtgott-Roth. The FCC said it is studying whether Internet service providers of telephony should be required to contribute to universal service.
Last week, FCC Chairman Bill Kennard said schools, libraries and rural health-care centers with the greatest need should get Internet connects first. Today, discounted Internet connections for those entities are given on a first-come, first-served basis.
Senate legislation would mandate a need’s test.
The Senate Commerce Committee postponed an April 21 hearing on universal service, but has not yet rescheduled the meeting.
