Congress Considers Universal Service Reforms to Boost Rural Broadband

House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet held a hearing yesterday to examine a discussion draft of the Universal Service Reform Act of 2009. One of the major goals is to find ways to expand broadband services to rural areas. Ray Baum, the chairman of NARUC’s Committee on Communications and the State Chair of the Federal State Joint Board on Universal Service, offered testimony. He was joined by executives from AT&T, Verizon, DTC Communications, Cellular South, National Cable & Telecommunications Association, Pioneer Communications and Windstream Communications. Gregory Roston of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and Karen Rheuban from the University of Virginia’s Office of Telemedicine also appeared. Subcommittee Chairman Rock Boucher said the goal is to pass new legislation during the current Congress.

The discussion draft and complete witness testimony are available at the Subcommittee’s website.