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]]]>
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