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CENSORSHIP UPDATE
TELECOM BILL: A SECRET FUND?
+
by Randall M. Chastain
American Reporter Correspondent
Columbia, S.C.
2/6/96
IS TELECOM FUND FOR INSIDERS, OR THE PUBLIC?
by Randall M. Chastain
American Reporter Correspondent
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The enormous and long-awaited telecommunications
bill slated for Presidential approval this week has been widely discussed
in the media. However, concentration on some high-tech and unconstitu-
tional aspects of the new law has obscured its potential for aiding small
business and creating boondoggles.
Sections 707 and 714 of the Telecommunications Act allows entre-
preneurs access to government dollars if their businesses increase
competition in the telecom industry. Although these provisions have been
little noted by the media so far, the Act creates a Telecommunications
Development Fund to be headquartered, unfortunately, in Washington, D.C.
The purposes of the Fund are "to promote access to capital for
small businesses in order to enhance competition in the telecommunications
industry," to "stimulate new technology development, and promote
employment and training," and "to support universal service and promote
delivery of telecommunications services to underserved rural and urban
areas."
There is to be a Board of Directors made up of seven persons to be
appointed by the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and
four to come from the private sector, one of whom must be the fund's
Chairman. The FCC Chairman is supposed to appoint the Chairman of the
Fund within 30 days after the enactment of the bill.
The Fund gets an generous source of income: all interest on depos-
its of bidders for various concessions regulated by the Act (a potentially
substantial amount of money) is to be made available to the Fund. In
addition, the Fund can have appropriations from Congress, and the Act
contains an apparently self-executing authorization for such
appropriations -- and it can accept monies from anywhere else, if it
chooses.
Thus, the Telecommunications Act creates a source of money for
those who know how to get it. But how will Americans know unless the
media tell them? So far, there has been mighty little telling.
Also, the very short time within which appointments are to be made
to the Board and the Chairman is named suggests that at least some people
will have access to this information, and that initial distributions of
funds will benefit those who know what's going on -- not necessarily
members of the public at large.
Isn't it the job of the media to let the public know about the
availability of this money, and the potential for its abuse?
Will it be government as usual -- for the insiders? Or an
opportunity for small businesspeople to help everyone by increasing
access to electronic information via innovation?
It's really up to the media; if they don't tell the world (or at
least Americans) about the opportunity, they become part of the
problem, don't they?
Following the career of the Telecommunications Fund should be
interesting.
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Copyright 1996 Joe Shea, The American Reporter
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