[1st-mile-nm] Colorado Lawmakers aim to shift $50 million phone subsidy toward broadband

[Richard Lowenberg]

A news item about efforts in neighboring CO.   RL

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Lawmakers aim to shift $50 million phone subsidy toward broadband

By Andy Vuong, The Denver Post
Posted:   01/05/2014

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_24843279/lawmakers-aim-shift-50-million-phone-subsidy-toward?

Colorado lawmakers and industry officials are dialed in on plans to 
overhaul a program that reimburses carriers more than $50 million 
annually for providing land-line phone service in rural areas.

A revamp of the so-called High Cost Support Mechanism is expected to 
rank among the top business issues this coming session after efforts 
over the past three years failed. The federal government and other 
states have already restructured similarly outdated subsidies, shifting 
the money toward broadband expansion.

Though competing measures are floating around, the consensus is that 
Colorado will also aim to repurpose the funds for broadband rather than 
eliminate the subsidy, which is backed by a 2.6 percent surcharge on 
land-line and mobile phone bills.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has initiated a review to 
determine which areas of the state have sufficient competition and 
should no longer qualify for High Cost support. Industry leaders expect 
that process to free up several million dollars as early as this year.

(Snip….)



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Richard Lowenberg, Executive Dir.
1st-Mile Institute, 505-603-5200
P.O.Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
www.1st-mile.org  rl at 1st-mile.org
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