GREENBELT, MD, JUNE 16, 2009 - JSI's Douglas Meredith will be reviewing the white paper, "America's Broadband Connection: Universal Service Rediscovered," commissioned by the Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) during a briefing on Capitol Hill Thursday, July 9, 2009. The paper, the latest in FRS's Rural Telecom Educational Series, underscores the benefits the nation has reaped as a result of the commitment to universal service and the importance of extending the social policy underlying the program to the broadband build-out initiative that is a key part of President Obama's economic reconstruction strategy.
The paper describes how universal service has fulfilled congressional mandates to promote the development and reach of the national network by ensuring that all Americans have comparable access to affordable telephone service. In addition, "America's Broadband Connection" reviews the challenges to the public network and universal service arising from pro-competitive policy shifts and rapid advancements in Internet-based technologies. The paper calls attention to the accomplishments of community based telecom providers in delivering advanced services - i.e., the economic lifeblood of a community - to the most remote parts of the country. FRS and JSI urge policymakers to tread carefully between market-force designs and the social objectives articulated by Congress time and time again. The paper concludes by demonstrating that maintaining the commitment to universal service will be critical to the success of the broadband build-out espoused by President Obama as part of his plan to restore the nation's economy.
Elizabeth Crocker, FRS's executive director, will lead the July 9 briefing at the Capitol Hill Club from 2:00-4:30 p.m. Meredith, JSI's director-economics and policy, will speak along with Dom Caristi of Ball State's Digital Institute, who is presenting another FRS white paper, "The Truth about Cable Rates," and a representative from the Rural Telephone Finance Cooperative (RTFC).
Hard-copy and PDF versions of "America's Broadband Connection: Universal Service Rediscovered" are available from FRS, at www.frs.org. For more information about JSI's participation on the paper, contact Chris Lehner (clehner@jsitel.com) in JSI's Greenbelt, MD office, at 301-459-7590, or Douglas Meredith (dmeredith@jsitel.com) in Salt Lake City, at 801-294-4576.
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JSI provides a full array of financial, management, regulatory, business development, marketing/public relations and strategic services, as well as education and training. Established in 1962, JSI today provides these services, and more, to hundreds of companies across the nation. JSI also offers analysis and review of such competitive-focused issues as pricing and bundling, VoIP and IPTV assessment, CLEC and video/cable operations, strategic partnerships, image and identity, and mergers/acquisitions. With more than 95 professionals on staff, JSI remains a leader in offering business solutions to independent providers. In addition to its Greenbelt, Md., headquarters, JSI has regional offices in Atlanta, Minneapolis, Austin, and Salt Lake City.
Established in 1994 by the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, the Foundation for Rural Service is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, educate, and advocate rural telecommunications issues in order to sustain and enhance the quality of life in communities throughout rural America. For more information about FRS and its various programs, contact Elizabeth Crocker (ecrocker@frs.org) at 703-351-2044 or visit www.frs.org.
