Verizon wants the U.S. government to launch a new program that provides grants and loans for rural broadband mobility, reports InfoWorld.
The nation likely won’t reach U.S. President George Bush’s goal of universal broadband access by the end of 2007, said Tom Tauke, Verizon’s executive vice president for public affairs, policy, and communications. The U.S. needs to look at broadband incentive programs “sooner rather than later”.
Verizon wants a program like ConnectKentucky, which has provided 94 percent of Kentucky residents with broadband options. Kentucky expects to provide about 99 percent of its residents with a broadband carrier by the end of the year, Tauke said.
The new program proposed by Verizon could use some existing funding, including redirecting some funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS), which had a 2006 budget of $6.1 billion, he said. The RUS now subsidizes several types of utilities, including broadband, electricity, distance learning, and telemedicine. New funds may also be needed, Tauke said, although he didn’t provide specific numbers at a press briefing. Verizon has not yet pitched the idea to most lawmakers, Tauke said.
The telecom giant called on the U.S. Congress to make changes the Universal Service Fund program, a $4 billion program that subsidizes telephone access in rural and poor areas. Instead of providing USF funds to multiple carriers, the U.S. government should cap USF at its current funding levels, and require carriers to bid to provide service in areas where subsidies are needed, Tauke said.
“Reverse auctions” forcing carriers to compete to provide service would end the current system in which multiple carriers, sometimes five or more wireless voice providers, receive USF money to provide service in the same territory, Tauke said. Verizon does not currently take USF money, he said.
“If you have multiple carriers offering service in a territory, that would seem to suggest you don’t need Universal Service Fund support,” he said. “[Carriers say] ‘If somebody’s going to hand out money, why not take it?’”
The tax on telephone service to pay for USF has risen from about 3.2 percent in 1998 to 9.7 percent currently, Verizon noted in a proposal to the Federal-Sate Joint Board on Universal Service, filed Friday. “The level of fees is becoming staggeringly high,” he said. “The system is broken, it’s not working, and it’s unfair.”
Cynics might say that Verizon is just making a play for their proprietary 700 MHz broadband system. Verizon might bid on commercial 700 MHz frequencies nationwide, utilizing Qualcomm’s Flarion system. Then they could leverage their commercial system into the federal government’s radio network, also at 700 MHz.
The Universal Service Fund (Fund Facts) subsidizes rural telephone service. But twisted pair incumbants can’t deliver broadband much beyond 5 miles. Cellular voice and data is more expensive with limited capacity and range. Verizon wants a piece of the billions in Universal Service Fund dollars.
A 700 MHz network for rural communications could be just the ticket.
Verizon might then leverage that service into the federal government’s $10-$30 Billion Integrated Wireless Network contract for federal law enforcement which also uses the 700 MHz band.
If Verizon proposes to use Qualcomm’s Flarion system, it would be proprietary. It might also be blessed by the DoJ/FEMA and subsidized by taxpayers.
Cyren Call has a different vision. Instead of auctioning off commercial 700 MHz bands to the highest bidder (possibly Verizon), Cyren Call prefers an approach where 30 MHz in the Upper 700 MHz band would go to a “trust” which would then manage local 700 MHz licenses independantly. That, says Cyren Call, will benefit both public service and commercial users by sharing frequencies and infrastructure costs.
Verizon, by contrast, would likely operate separate wireless systems.
GigOm’s Paul Kapustka says the Cyren Call pitch is too little, too late:
There’s no doubt Morgan O’Brien’s heart is in the right place when he talks about the need to build a next-generation communications network for emergency first responders. But after hearing more details of his Cyren Call1 plan, you can’t help but wish he had cooked up something truly innovative, entrepreneurial and disruptive, instead of an old-school telecom biz plan bundled in a shiny public-trust wrapper.
Related Dailywireless articles on public safety include; Senate Testimony on 700MHz Sharing, FCC to Rural Users: 700MHz is the Ticket, McCain Wants Commercial 700 MHz for Police and Fire, Oregon’s $500 Million Statewide Network and A $665 Million Police Radio?.
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