#universal service

Here's my latest blog post about positive moves we can make to rebuild our notion of citizenship in the U.S. What Can We Do — What SHOULD We Do — for Our Country?

Radical Centrism Papers: Remaking Citizenship I

“Ask not what your country can do for you… Ask what YOU can do for your country!” So John F Kennedy inspired us almost 60 years ago in his electrifying inaugural address.  But since the idealism he unleashed with that statement, it seems we’ve been just been doing a lot of forgetting. Politicians, presidents, political parties, preachers and…

Le mercredi 19 février 2025 de 9h00 à 13h00 WAT (08h00 à 12h00 UTC), le Chapitre de la RDC de l’Internet Society (ISOC-RDC) présente une masterclass sur le service universel : “Connecter de nouveaux usagers”, explorant comment le service universel peut promouvoir l’inclusion numérique. L’événement se tiendra à l’Amphithéâtre de l’INRB (Nouveau Bâtiment), Kinshasa. PROGRAMME (Toutes les heures…

Universal service is the principle that all Americans should have access to communications services. Universal service is also the name of a fund and the category of FCC programs and policies to implement this principle.  Universal service is a cornerstone of the law that established the FCC, the Communications Act of 1934. Since that time, universal service policies have helped make telephone service ubiquitous, even in remote rural areas. Today, the FCC recognizes high-speed Internet as the 21st Century’s

Source: Universal Service | Federal Communications Commission

So, to put it another way… here is yet another example to pile onto the thousands of others where the fucking US Government has (a long time ago) figured out how to utterly screw the american taxpayer out of even more.

Oh yes, I know it’s beyond laughable, but every time I read of another example of how free-enterprise, or – lets just say any Tom, Dick or Harry could get something done, the bastards in Government look at it and say, “oh, fuck no man, we are going to own this shit… we can jump in here and completely take this over, and build yet another gigantic bureaucracy around it where we can put more cats on the Government payroll, charge fees, taxes, contrived services… oh yeah, we’re going to fuck everyone really good on this one…”

WASHINGTON D.C. —  Yesterday, TechFreedom filed comments urging the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to go back to the drawing board before expanding the Universal Service Fund’s (USF) Lifeline program to cover broadband. The FCC has proposed allowing low-income consumers to spend its $9.25/month Lifeline subsidy on either broadband Internet access or telephone service. Given the enormous number of people eligible for Lifeline (34% of American households), this could dramatically expand the size of the program. Any increase in Lifeline spending will be funded by charging all subscribers higher USF fees on telecom services — which now include broadband under the FCC’s Title II reclassification.

“Lifeline is a broken, bloated program, funded by the most regressive tax in America,” said Berin Szoka, President of TechFreedom. “The program needs to be refocused on its most basic goal: bringing phone service to those who otherwise wouldn’t have it. In March, the GAO found that 91% of Lifeline enrollees would have subscribed to phone services even without the subsidies. That’s hardly surprising, given that a shocking 34% of Americans are now eligible for Lifeline subsidies. But it means the FCC isn’t focusing resources on those who truly would not have access to phone services without Lifeline. If the FCC spent Lifeline money more wisely, it could cover basic broadband service without increasing the size of the program — which means, without raising telephone and broadband taxes on those just above Lifeline’s eligibility threshold.”

WASHINGTON D.C. —  At a briefing this morning, the FCC announced that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler plans to expand the Universal Service Fund’s Lifeline program, allowing low-income consumers to spend the program’s $9.25/month subsidy on broadband Internet or telephone service. Wheeler will circulate a draft proposal today, to be voted on at the Commission’s June 18 meeting. Any increase in Lifeline spending will be funded by increased USF fees on telecom services — which will soon include broadband itself.

“The FCC is dodging the obvious: expanding Lifeline means new broadband taxes and higher taxes overall on telecom services,” said Berin Szoka, President of TechFreedom. “The FCC made broadband taxes inevitable when it reclassified broadband as a telecom service — it’s just a question of the FCC’s Joint Board finding the least awkward time to make it official. USF taxes are the most regressive taxes in America, so families just above the eligibility threshold will suffer most.”