03-11-2010, 09:05 PM
For the recoprd (as someone who worked for a telco for 26+ years) lifeline, linkup and high cost rural phone subsidies are not funded by the gov't or telcos - they are mandated by the gov't but funded from surcharges on customer bills (or in the case of large businesses, cooked into their rates). Telco's would love for this to be a gov't subsidy because they bear a huge administrative burden collecting these fees...not to mention the inequity of poor customers in urban areas (where it is relatively cheap to provide service) paying a surcharge to subsidize phone service in high cost areas like Aspen.