Reforming USF

By Brad

Last week, the FCC took the first big step in reforming a major part of the Universal Service Fund as part of the larger National Broadband Plan effort. At Connected Planet, Joan Engebretson offers the details:

In a unanimous vote, FCC commissioners adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking that proposes reforms in three key areas:

- Enhancing measures to prevent fraud and abuse, such as eliminating funding for services that are unused for 60 days and eliminating the initiation fee for unusually high turn-up charges assessed only on lines subsidized through the program

- Making the system more accountable by, for example, requiring more rigorous eligibility checks

- Taking measures to contain growth in the size of the fund, including evaluating a cap on the program

The full NPRM is available at the FCC website in handy PDF form.