14 DAY TRIAL // The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin Martin, is pushing for a simpler and fairer taxing grid for the intricate network of connections that needs to be established between phone companies. This happens especially with inter-network calls, which are now regulated by a very complex menu of fees, agreed upon by the companies. Martin's plan would replace these costs with reduced ones and would relieve the $7 billion Universal Service Fund (USF).
This fund is meant as a relief measure for poor communities and some rural areas, where the costs of operating regular fees are too great to be sustained. Martin said that the regulations he proposed would virtually eliminate these problems and leave the communication grids accessible to more people. By diverting some of the funds that are granted by the USF annually, the FCC chairman hopes to be able to gather enough money to build broadband networks in areas that don't have high-speed Internet access yet.
Martin's initiative is supported by Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc., the two largest networks in the United States. According to them, the rules that now set the prices on calls between various network suppliers are obsolete and are based on old regulations that no longer apply to the intricate economic climate and the bad shape the economy is in right now.
Already, their proposal has spawned numerous oppositions, with tens of members of Congress sending letters to the FCC, urging that the matter be subjected to public commentaries. Kevin Martin is also pressured by both political parties to delay the vote on the matter inside the 5-member FCC council. Public figures, church leaders and even athletes also sent their disapproval letters to the FCC, and the large TV networks oppose this measure thoroughly.
This fierce opposition has nothing to do with the stated motive, namely that of helping people manage the costs of their phone calls. This opposition has everything to do with the $7 billion economic interest, maybe even more, that network suppliers, others than Verizon and AT&T, have in keeping the system working the way it is now. Hopefully, Martin will follow through with his proposal and the FCC council won't be affected by the negative publicity this measure got so far.