During the Jazz Age, cities enjoyed unprecedented prosperity, and the stock market soared. Yet rural America was in the midst of a terrible economic crisis, caused in part by a decade-long drought in the heart of the country. The collapse of the rural sector was a tremendous factor in ushering in the Great Depression. Today, the stock market is soaring again. This time, however, rural Americans are participating in the economic boom.
Rural telecommunications plays a key role in rural economic development.
Removing the supports for universal service will have a dire impact on the rural economy and, ultimately, on the country as a whole. That scenario is the last thing Congress had in mind.