No subject

[W. Curtiss Priest]

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 14:29:58 -0500
From: Benton Foundation <benton at benton.org>
To: benton-compolicy at cdinet.com
Subject: NPO's and Universal Service
Sender: owner-benton-compolicy at cdinet.com
Precedence: bulk

On March 6 the Benton Foundation sent the following letter to the Federal
Communications Commission encouraging the Commission to include the
viewpoints of nonprofit, community based organizations in the coming
proceedings on Universal Service.  The Benton Foundation's Communications
Policy Project is a nonpartisan initiative to strengthen public interest
efforts in shaping the emerging National Information Infrastructure (NII).
It is Benton's conviction that the vigorous participation of the nonprofit
sector in policy debates and demonstration projects will help realize the
public interest potential of the NII.

As the FCC defines Universal Service for the 21st century, the Benton
Foundation hopes to include public interest institutions in the debate that
will determine who will have affordable access to telecommunications
networks in every region of the nation.  Benton invites you to visit the
What's Going on section of our world wide web site (URL
http://www.benton.org) for updates and analysis of public interest issues
and the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  Or send requests for documents via
e-mail to benton at benton.org

Benton invites your comments and support.  You may reach us at this e-mail
address or at:
Benton Foundation
1634 Eye Street NW, 12th Floor
Washington  DC  20006
202.638.5770
202.638.5771 (f)
******************************************************************
March 6, 1996

Regina Keeney
Chief, Common Carrier Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20554


Dear Ms. Keeney,

The Benton Foundation offers the following comments on the upcoming Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking in light of the commitment to Universal Service
included in the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  Benton hopes that the
Commission acts to involve in this rulemaking process the perspectives of
those who should benefit most from a policy on Universal Service - the
homeless, low-income households, and other vulnerable communities.  Benton
suggests that the Commission direct a number of questions to the
organizations that serve these constituencies not as consumers or
statistics, but as people at-risk of falling off the networks that connect
the nation and thereby widen the breath of viewpoints included in defining
the public interest, convenience and necessity.  The questions nonprofit,
public interest advocates can best address include:

*       How should the discussion of Universal Service be framed?  Is
Universal Service about connecting phones?  Connecting people with phones?
Or connecting people with people?  How can the discussion center around the
people who need to benefit from the policy most?
*       How is the value of a network - any network, phone or computer -
diminished as fewer and fewer people have access to it?    What can be done
to identify the communities and individuals most at risk of falling off the
networks that will make up the National Information Infrastructure?  What
strategies can be employed to add people to the networks and keep them on?
How can the voices of the people who have fallen off the networks be
included in the rulemaking?
*       What telecommunications services should be "universal" in the
information age?  What flexibility should people have in picking the
services they need?  How might Universal Service be defined so that
recipients of the services do not have to pay to protect certain rights
(i.e., privacy)?  What good is a wire without the connection to the
hardware, training, and support that are essential for effective use?
*       What role can nonprofit organizations and other community-based
institutions play in delivering access to basic and advanced services?  How
could centralized delivery centers reduce the costs of providing basic and
advanced services in both urban and rural areas?  What role could existing
nonprofits - schools, libraries, community centers, etc. - play in managing
these new telecommunications centers?  Also, in a more complex
technological environment with numerous carriers, providing universal
access may not be enough to facilitate widespread use of
telecommunications.  The public may need ongoing consumer education so that
individuals and organizations are aware of the options available to them,
are able to make informed decisions about these options, understand the
pricing of the services, and know how to get assistance if they have
difficulties with service reliability, bills, privacy, and other problems.
How might nonprofit organizations provide these services as well?

The provision of Universal Service is more than an agreement between
industry and government.  Universal Service is the guarantee that all
Americans can gain access to the information networks that connect the
nation.  The Benton Foundation hopes that the Commission will include the
above questions and invite the contributions of nonprofit organizations in
this historic opportunity to define Universal Service.



Respectfully submitted,
Kevin Taglang
Communications Policy Project
Benton Foundation