The State of the Union and the politics of USF

Although Washington, D.C. was closed down this past week with over 40 inches of snow and Congress is in recess for the coming week, the inactivity here is in sharp contrast to what will be in the coming months after the FCC release of the Broadband Plan next month. In the latestBack Page, Tom Smith, our Congressional advisor and editor of the Independent Report, offers his thoughts on the changing political landscape and the November elections and the inevitable tie to change in USF.

While public interest groups and large telecom companies position for the debate ahead, the Back Page raises both a question and a call for the rural independent industry to commit the resources needed to mount the grass roots response...