RURAL TELCOS SEEK TO KEEP SUPPORT AMID BROADBAND EFFORTS

摘要

Congress should ensure that broadband efforts maintain support for rural telcos, executives ofnfour major rural telco associations told congressional staff at a closed meeting of the RuralnTelecommunications Task Force, a subcommittee of the House Rural Caucus. ThenIndependent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance, National TelecommunicationsnCooperative Association, Western Telecommunications Alliance and the Organization for thenPromotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies asked that Congressnensure rural broadband providers continue to receive support from the Universal Service Fund,nintercarrier compensation 搊r some combination,?ITTA President Curt Stamp said after thenmeeting. It 抯 hard for rural carriers to justify investing in very remote areas without 搒nomething to fill in the gap,?such as stimulus money, USF 搊r some other mechanism,?hensaid.