Article: ETC debate overshadows FCC inaction; Reverse auction has lukewarm support, skepticism and opposition.(News)

Byline: JEFFREY SILVA

Wireless carriers providing government-subsidized service to high-cost rural areas have become the villains in the debate over how to rein in the ballooning universal service fund, a situation that could help explain why the Federal Communications Commission is sitting on a slew of wireless applications from 2003 and 2004 seeking government subsidies to bring communications to rural areas.

The FCC has not always moved at a snail's pace on wireless applications for eligible telecommunications carrier status. The FCC handles wireless ETC applications for a handful of states, with state regulators carrying the lion's share of ETC ...

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