In the 1996 Telecom Act, Congress made clear that preserving and advancing universal service policy was a central goal of telecommunications policy. To do so, Congress called for a regime of explicit subsidies - raised by assessments on consumers telephone bills - to replace the historic reliance on implicit subsidies that were built into the rate structure. In so doing, Congress recognized that these implicit subsidies, such as those collecting through the payment of access charges upon the termination of long distance calls, would be unable to support universal service once competition took route. Today, competition is taking root with a vengeance, in particular through the increasing use of wireless telephone service and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services.

To help develop a next generation universal service policy, this conference will bring together leaders in government, academia, and industry to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing Congress as it grapples with these issues. In particular, the conference will address what sources of support can be tapped and how the support for universal service should be distributed - i.e., to what extent wireless services and broadband should be covered.

There is no charge to attend this event, but please sign up to assist us with catering for the event.