George Mason U. Prof. Thomas Hazlett deserves a D for poor resear...
George Mason U. Prof. Thomas Hazlett deserves a D for poor research, said 2 rural telecom officials unhappy with his characterization of rural telecom companies as high- spending (CD July 20 p7). Michael Fox of RT Communications and Jeffry…
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Smith of GVNW Consulting issued a “response” to Hazlett: (1) “Rural is different,” with facilities costs that can’t be compared to urban areas. (2) The Universal Service Fund is needed to build rural infrastructure. (3) The USF isn’t a tax. (4) Growth in the USF “has been fueled by competitive entrants” not incumbents. (5) “Erroneous assumptions… lead to bad conclusions.” The authors who said they produced the response on their own -- concluded: “If the professor were a student, he might receive an A or B for his carefully-crafted writing style. However, we mark his paper with a C for logical flow and a D for veracity of research.” In a July paper for the Seniors Coalition, Hazlett said USF subsidies to rural companies encourage inefficiency and block adoption of advanced technologies.