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Did you know that AT&T is going to see $450 million in subsidies this year? As if their income and profits weren’t enough.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit misleading. This subsidy, of which AT&T will receive more than any other wireless company, aims to compensate carriers for building networks in areas where they might not recoup their losses. It’s basically the government acknowledging that AT&T won’t build a network unless it makes money, and handing them a bag with a dollar sign on it so that they’ll get to work.

Now the House is taking a look into these subsidies. Don’t Chairman Harvey Waxman (D-CA) wrong, though. He’s not looking for wrongdoing. He’s just trying to see how this all works. (Riiiight)

“I want to emphasize that I am not implying that any of these companies have violated applicable FCC rules, policies, and procedures regarding their receipt of USF subsidies or acted illegally,” Waxman said. “I do believe, however, that this program would benefit from oversight by our committee.”

The committee apparently wants to extend the universal service fund to include Internet access. This makes sense. Just as it’s unprofitable to build a wireless infrastructure in rural areas, so it is to run fiber wire to those areas. A government subsidy could entire companies to act on initiatives to bring broadband to more Americans.

It appears that the telecoms, at least some of them, are looking forward to reforming the USF. Both Sprint and Verizon had spokespeople speak directly to the issue of reform. Verizon in particular prefers a reverse auction plan, whereby a low bidder would be awarded a subsidy for a single area, rather than multiple areas. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is on board with that.

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