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Discussion of the Performance Goals: The availability of modern telecommunications helps achieve the Departmental goal to “Expand economic and trade opportunities for agricultural producers and other rural residents.”
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 represents the most comprehensive rewrite of the Communications Act of 1934 and the most sweeping telecommunications reform ever. The passage of this legislation is bringing about a whole new world of telecommunications services and technologies. It will also create a new industry structure setting new ground rules. New competitors are entering the telecommunications industry. One of the most dramatic occurrences is the opening of the local loop and the development of competition in a previously regulated industry. The rural provisions in the Act set forth revisions for “Universal Service” and the structure for allowing competition, infrastructure sharing, and resale in rural areas. The specific rules and requirements are being forged by new Federal Communications Commission rulings, state public utilities commission proceedings in each state, and in many cases, state proceedings with each separate RUS borrower. RUS has the responsibility to represent rural Americans in this process and in this new environment.
Rural economic development is critical as communities across the country struggle to keep pace with today’s fast moving information-based economy. Barriers to local rural development result from the lack of access to adequate financing and the vastness of space and distance which isolate rural communities from the mainstream of today’s economy. The development and implementation of the Information Superhighway as part of the National Information Infrastructure Initiative (NII) is a solution which can help to overcome these barriers.
Means and Strategies: Achievement of the FY 2001 Performance Goals and Indicators is contingent upon receiving the program and general support resources indicated in this plan. The FY 2000 program levels and projected performance targets are based on Congressional appropriations and are not subject to changes that could impact a program’s subsidy rate, such as fluctuations in the Treasury discount rate. As required by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, the program-specific subsidy rates utilized in the development of the President’s FY 2000 Budget will be used when establishing obligations of FY 2000 funds.
Specific strategies to achieve the performance goals include:
• Build leveraging partnerships to expand resources going to rural areas.
• Where applicable, direct resources to the neediest projects and communities.
• Implement the President’s National Information Infrastructure Initiative, thereby increasing educational and health care levels in rural areas.
Verification and Validation: The data used in the Performance Indicators are taken from internal RUS records rather than from automated accounting systems. The number of residents and businesses receiving service for the first time are available from information collected from Loan Application and Loan Feasibility Study, RUS Form 496. Estimates are based on loan studies for the number of new subscribers to be served using loan funds and adjusted to reflect the number of people receiving service through a single subscribership. A multiplier of 3 is used to reflect the number of persons per household and business.
The number of residents and businesses with improved service is also available from Loan Application and Loan Feasibility Study, RUS Form 496, utilizing an estimation process similar to the one described above. For instance, a new digital switch would certainly improve all service in the exchange where the switch was located and would also improve all service to other exchanges calling into that exchange. Generally, RUS considers the total subscribers of a borrower receiving a loan as subscribers receiving improved service.