[ NNSquad ] Internet Phone Calls Caught in Crossfire As FCC Adopts Rural Broadband Subsidies

[Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>]

Internet Phone Calls Caught in Crossfire As FCC Adopts Rural Broadband Subsidies

http://j.mp/uXjqNX  (Wired)

    "The Federal Communications Commission unanimously adopted a radical
     changeover Thursday to the $4.5 billion Universal Service Fund,
     created by a fee attached to telephone bills, and will now channel the
     bulk of subsidies to expand rural broadband use, rather than rural
     phone service.  While updating a Depression-era program for the 21st
     century seems like a no-brainer, the change is pitting traditional
     phone service provider AT&T against Comcast, which provides calling
     services over its broadband network, and is exposing the FCC's
     intellectual confusion over how to regulate communications in the
     internet age."

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--Lauren--
NNSquad Moderator