By capping subsidy, wireless expansion in rural areas would stagnate

As Mainers know, the wind is blowing strong in the direction of wireless. Cell phones are no longer a novelty, they are a necessity. More and more people are claiming wireless phones as their only phone line.

But while having a strong cell signal is convenient, it is also plays a critical role in public safety. First responders and law enforcement officials depend on reliable wireless coverage to reach people in a variety of urgent, emergency situations. And if we can’t find a way to narrow the technological gap between urban and rural areas – in Maine and across the country – economic development will suffer. As things stand, many of Maine’s more rural residents are still working hard to secure the reliable wireless infrastructure that helps attract new businesses and tourists.

In Maine, wireless subscriptions have grown from 368,000 in 2001 to 630,000 in 2006. This rapid growth reflects not only the increase in demand for wireless services, but the huge disadvantages suffered by residents living in more rural areas with limited service.

We need to do more, and we can do more. For the past decade, telecommunications providers have drawn from the Universal Service Fund (USF), to help build infrastructure in sparsely-populated areas. Now the Federal Communications Commission is considering placing a cap on USF funds for wireless carriers.

The USF was created in part to ensure that the telecommunications choices made available to rural residents are reasonably comparable to those available in urban areas-in both price and quality.

Currently, U.S. Cellular receives approximately $8 million in USF funding annually and with that has committed to build 32 sites over the next two years in Maine’s rural communities. In 2006, U.S. Cellular was able to add 12 cellular sites in Maine. Six were the result of USF funding.

In 2007, U.S. Cellular plans to add 36 cellular sites across Maine, benefiting an estimated 100,000 Maine residents with new network service. Of these 36 sites, 21 will be funded by the USF, and bring service to rural communities such as Grand Isle, Union, and Peru.

Unfortunately, the FCC wants to cap the funds that make this kind of growth possible. If this cap goes through, the federal funds that would have come into Maine to help expand rural networks will be indefinitely delayed. Unless Congress calls a hearing immediately, the FCC is expected to impose this cap in the next 4-8 weeks – and its effects on the safety and development of rural areas will last for years.

Rural America must make its voice heard. So far, the FCC has been unresponsive to letters sent from nine members of the Senate Commerce Committee which oversees the FCC, or from other members of Congress. Moreover, Chairman Kevin Martin has ignored formal comments from concerned citizens as well as the will of Congress and the FCC’s own precedents.

If this cap is enacted, Maine will lose $2 million in USF funding each year it remains in effect. That’s at least 5 new cell towers a year beginning in 2007. Thousands of Mainers stand to lose out on new or improved service, even as the number of wireless subscriptions continues to rise.

USF must make room for wireless: it’s commerce, it’s a connection to markets and it’s clearly the future. To this end, U.S. Cellular is supporting Connecting Rural America, a grassroots coalition working to level the regulatory playing field so that rural consumers can access high-quality wireless telecommunications services.

We can’t afford to leave rural America behind.

John E. Rooney is president and chief executive officer of U.S. Cellular.