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Ever hear of the Universal Service Fund? It was created back in 1996, before we saw the widespread use of cell phones. The idea behind it was to ensure that rural areas have modern telecommunications infrastructure available to them. I’ll quote to elaborate: “All telecommunications companies, as well as long distance companies, local telephone companies, and wireless carriers, proving interstate services contribute to the fund (most often as a line item charge on customers’ phone bills).” So it’s a bit of a social program to ensure that companies have an incentive (since there isn’t much of one in terms of profit) to build out infrastructures in lesser-populated regions of the country. U.S. Cellular is taking advantage of this in their efforts to move into West Virginia.

They are now an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier, as deemed by the West Virginia Public Service Commission. They can now access $7 million in annual funds from the federal Universal Service Fund. This will allow them to build out a network in West Virginia.

“We are extremely pleased with this decision and thank the West Virginia Public Service Commission for its timely and thoughtful review of our application,” said John Rooney, U.S. Cellular president and CEO, expressing his positive views about the new designation. “This designation will enable us to provide more rural West Virginians with access to dependable wireless services — the same services that urban folks now take for granted.”

I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, many times our infrastructure neglects people in lesser-populated areas, as the companies that build and maintain them don’t see the opportunity for profit in those areas. So their need to be kept up with the rest of the country is marginalized in the name of profit.

This isn’t to say that the companies are “evil” or anything else like that. It’s just to say that if they’re going to make profit their No. 1 goal, and not service to everyone, someone has to step in and make sure that access is granted to all who wish it. This is why the Universal Service Fund is a good idea.

Senator John Rockefeller commented: “Nowhere is the need for affordable and reliable wireless service greater than in the more rural areas of West Virginia, where many consumers can tell you down to the mile marker where they lose their service.”

Hopefully, the $7 million annual subsidy helps give West Virginians the service they deserve.

[TMCnet]

Posted By : Joe
Posted at : March 6th, 2008 - 11:28 am
Filed under : Prepaid Services