Witness Cox which is in the process of shedding its most rural cable systems right now. They’ve got a number of other reasons (IMHO) but the one they advertise is the expense of upgrading their systems.

It isn’t just the teleco’s that are prepared to abandon rural America. (I just hope some of those folks remember how their grandparents got together to form electrical coops.)

Om Malik wrote a very good review on the Universal Service Fund. In short, the FCC continues to demonstrate more concern to the interest of the RBUC than to the users – which it pretends to represent.
Some people might claim that the governm…

We’ve written extensively about this.
http://www.newnetworks.com/universalservicefund.htm

A small example, very weathly companies are receiving these funds, known as the
high cost fund” — this make believe fund is larger than the schools and libraries fund.

Fraud has proven to be a major isuses, but most
importantly, the service there has been no audits of the costs of service, so, if the company says’ it needs high cost funds… well, no on examines these costs –

Also, beware of fake consumer groups, such as Keep USF Fair coaltion, that are essentially being used to add tax to VOIP and new services — funded by the Bell companies.
http://www.teletruth.org/USF.html

Bruce Kushnick, Teletruth
Executive Director, New Networks Institute