FTTH Council Reacts to Telecoms’ Proposal for USF Reform
(WASHINGTON) – The Fiber-to-the-Home Council – a non-profit organization of 270 companies and organizations dedicated to expanding the deployment of all-fiber, next-generation networks – today issued a statement from its President, Daniel O’Connell, in reaction to a Universal Service Fund reform plan submitted to the FCC by six telecommunications companies.
The plan offered by AT&T, CenturyLink, FairPoint, Frontier, Verizon and Windstream, with the support of some of the organizations representing rural carriers, comes in response to the FCC’s request for input on its goal of migrating USF support and the intercarrier compensation regime to support broadband deployment in rural and other high cost areas.
The statement from Mr. O’Connell follows:
The Fiber-to-the-Home Council recognizes the importance of reforming the universal service regime and supports efforts of the industry to coalesce on a plan to achieve this objective. As this process moves forward, we believe a critical objective should be a USF program that strongly encourages rural service providers to invest in next-generation networks. The link between the availability of high-performance broadband services and local economic development has never been more obvious, and USF is critical to ensuring that rural communities are able to compete, grow and prosper in the 21st century.
About the Fiber-to-the-Home Council
Now in its tenth year, the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council is a non-profit association consisting of companies and organizations that deliver video, Internet and/or voice services over high-bandwidth, next-generation, direct fiber optic connections – as well as those involved in planning and building FTTH networks. The Council works to create a cohesive group to share knowledge and build industry consensus on key issues surrounding fiber to the home. Its mission is to educate the public and government officials about FTTH solutions and to promote and accelerate deployment of fiber to the home and the resulting quality of life enhancements such networks make possible. The Council organizes North America’s largest annual FTTH event, the FTTH Conference & Expo, which will be held September 26 – 30, 2011 in Orlando, Florida. More information about the Council can be found at www.ftthcouncil.org.
Media Contact:
David St. John
Media Relations
FTTH Council
315.849.3800
media@ftthcouncil.org
