Some members of Congress are beginning to understand the implications of what they've done. Of course not. More important, however, is that unversal service will now include the cost of wiring the nation's two million classrooms and 16,000 libraries to the Internet. The Internet is wonderful, no doubt. Children need Internet access the way they need subsidized bus service to the nearest mall.
Education is the ultimate local issue.
If states want to spend money on Internet hook-ups, let them use their own tax dollars. Ira Fishman, on the other hand, thinks there's a key federal role. They consistently tout the benefits of the program, but not its costs. It's no surprise, then, that the FCC is angry at companies that plan to disclose those costs to customers as a line-item on the monthly bill. But that's what it is.