Federal Subsidies of Advanced Telecommunications for Schools, Libraries, and Health Care Providers.
Abstract
In May 1997, pursuant to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a report and order detailing its plan for providing subsidies to elementary and secondary (K-12) schools, public libraries, and public and nonprofit rural health care providers through the Universal Service Fund (USF). in that order, the FCC laid out the terms and limits of its program to promote access to advanced telecommunications services-such as the Internet and computer networking-by those groups. Most notably, the FCC created a system of sliding- scale subsidies for schools and libraries that would average 60 percent of eligible expenses. Collections and expenditures for those purposes are scheduled to begin in 1998. However, the details of the plan are still subject to change. The FCC issued an order on reconsideration modifying aspects of the plan late in December 1997, and more changes are likely to be made during 1998. This paper presents the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO's) baseline estimates for federal outlays and revenues under the FCC's May 1997 plan to provide those federal subsidies. CBO estimates that outlays would rise from about $0.6 billion in fiscal year 1998 to $1.2 billion in 1999. After that, outlays are expected to increase by a little more than $0.1 billion per year, reaching $2.4 billion in 2008 (see Summary Table 1). CBO assumes that revenues necessary to fund those expenditures will be collected as required and that the USF will be deficit neutral on a fiscal year basis.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA347274
Entities
People
- Philip Webre
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office