[RTC List] FCC votes to cap fund for rural phone subsidies

[Sean McLaughlin]

US FCC votes to cap fund for rural phone subsidies

By Peter Kaplan

Reuters

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to impose a 
cap on fast-growing subsidies the government allots to providers of 
telephone service in rural America.

 

The FCC voted by a 3-2 margin to cap the fund at March 2008 levels, or 
about $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion a year, by one recent estimate. The 
measure approved by the commission exempts phone carriers that serve 
tribal lands and Alaska native lands.

 

The rural phone subsidies are the largest component in a larger, 
"universal service" fund administered by the FCC. It is funded by an 
11-percent surcharge on long-distance phone calls that is billed to 
carriers and typically passed on to their subscribers.

http://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN0148058020080501

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