For over 50 years, the
Rural Utilities Service has been promoting
universal service in rural America through
targeted lending and technical advice.
The competition and universal service
provisions of the Telecommunications
Act of 1996 have brought a new era
with both challenges and opportunities
for rural Americans.
RUS is working in concert
with its borrowers, such as the Federal
Communications Commission, and with
rural leaders to build telecommunications
infrastructure that will provide the same
kinds of services for rural communities
as are available in more densely populated
cities and suburbs. Universal service
mechanisms will stimulate this process
and will help to make advanced telecommunications
more affordable for rural institutions
and consumers.
Our written comments
on universal service and related issues
are grouped by year above.
Advanced
Telecommunications in Rural America (.pdf)
is an evaluation of broadband deployment
in rural versus non-rural areas and the
effects of the Telecommunications Act
of 1996 on that process.
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