Rural Access to Telecommunications Services Act of 1989

Summary

Rural Access to Telecommunications Services Act of 1989 - Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to add a new section to such Act concerning rural access to telecommunications services. Expresses as the goal of the United States, acting through the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), to make universal and affordable state-of-the-art telecommunications access available to rural residents, businesses, industries, and other facilities through services such as: (1) voice telephone service; (2) private (not multiparty) telephone service; (3) reliable facsimile document and data transmission; (4) competitive long-distance carriers and value-added data networks; (5) cellular (mobile) telephone service; (6) touchtone telephone service; (7) custom-calling services; (8) voicemail services designed to record, store, and retrieve voice messages; (9) 911 emergency service with automatic number identification; and (10) other telecommunications and information services generally available in urban areas. Establishes in the Treasury the Rural Telecommunications Incentive Fund to serve as a source of capital in providing telecommunications to rural businesses, industries, and public facilities, including schools and hospitals. Directs the Administrator of REA to use the Fund to provide loans to: (1) entities providing telephone service to a rural area; and (2) rural telephone systems eligible for financing under this Act to provide modern telecommunications services to rural businesses, industries, and public facilities. Sets forth repayment terms and interest rates for such loans. Requires the Administrator, in providing such loans, to give priority to projects: (1) that provide telecommunications services to enhance the potential for rural economic development; and (2) for which the investment required cannot produce an adequate return to the borrower without such assistance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994. Requires the Administrator to provide grants to persons to conduct pilot projects to test the feasibility of using advanced telecommunications technologies to transmit and receive communications for business or other entities in rural areas of the United States. Authorizes appropriations for such projects for FY 1990 through 1994. Directs the Administrator to report annually to the Congress on the gap, if any, that exists on a State-by-State basis between subscribers served by borrowers from the Fund compared to the total telephone industry. Directs the Administrator to establish a special unit to assist rural telephone systems in eliminating such technology gap. Requires the Administrator to report annually to the Congress on the activities of such special unit. Directs each telecommunications exchange carrier to report annually to either the Administrator or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on: (1) the type of telecommunications services available to subscribers; and (2) the price of such services to subscribers. Directs the Administrator or the FCC to require each such carrier to compile certain information with respect to its subscribers and the availability of services. Requires the Administrator and the FCC to cooperate and jointly report on the results of a common survey form with respect to the provision of advanced telecommunications services to rural areas. Authorizes the Administrator, in making insured loans under this Act, to charge a less-than-standard interest rate on such loans if the borrower could not receive a sufficient return on investment (in providing telecommunications services to rural areas) to cover expenses and pay the debt service costs of a loan bearing an interest rate of five percent per annum.

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2 official files

• Introduced in Senate (text)

  Introduced in Senate · EN

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• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 11 April 1989

  Open at official source

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