Stand-Alone Broadband: Will Rural Users Still Pay Twice What Urban Users Pay?

The FCC’s plan to allow rural rate-of-return carriers to collect Universal Service funding for stand-alone broadband may not achieve its intended goal of substantially reducing the cost of that service, cautioned Michael Romano, senior vice president of industry affairs and business development for NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, in an interview with Telecompetitor.

Previously rural customers were paying an average of about $120 monthly for stand-alone broadband, while customers in urban areas were paying about $60 monthly for that service, Romano said.

"This reform might help get [the rural price] more toward $100 or $110 per month, but not bring it to where it’s ‘reasonably comparable’ with an urban area," commented Romano.

by Joan Engebretson

Full Story: http://www.telecompetitor.com/stand-alone-broadband-will-rural-users-still-pay-twice-what-urban-users-pay/