US Should Move Most Broadband Subsidies to Reverse Auctions, Jamison Says
The U.S. should auction most broadband subsidies "to catch up with the rest of the world," said American Enterprise Institute scholar Mark Jamison, who was on Donald Trump's presidential transition team for the FCC. Peru and Chile pioneered telecom subsidy…
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auctions and much of FCC Connect America Fund support is now auctioned for high-cost areas, but such auctions should be expanded to other USF programs, he said in a Friday blog post. "The old E-Rate, Rural Health Care, Lifeline and some CAF programs would be dropped. E-Rate, Rural Health Care and some CAF programs would be rolled into a CAF Phase II-like reverse auction. Lifeline support would move to income subsidies." Other federal government broadband programs should be terminated, with funding channeled "through the new world-class FCC system," he wrote. "As Commissioner Michael O’Rielly recently observed, federal broadband spending must have integrity and efficiency. The best bet for accomplishing this is a revamped FCC system." Asked how many countries auctioned broadband subsidies, Jamison told us he didn't know, but said "it is considered best practice internationally."