For Immediate Release
Contact: Carolyn Just, 703-351-2015, [email protected]
Arlington, Va., (April 12, 2019) – NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association today issued the following statement from Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield regarding the FCC’s adoption of an order eliminating the rural rate floor limiting universal service support received by rural carriers whose voice telephone rates are below a set minimum rate.
“For far too long, many rural American consumers have faced the prospect of rapidly escalating rates for voice telephony services because of a rate floor policy that was ill-designed from its inception. NTCA is a strong proponent of accountability and efficient use of universal service resources, but the rate floor as designed was punitive and did not further those objectives. More importantly, it failed to take into account the unique needs of rural Americans and the unique challenges in serving them. We therefore applaud today’s vote, and our members are eager to return their focus to delivering robust and affordable voice and broadband services in rural America.”
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