The University of Texas at Austin

Evolution of Universal Service Policy in Texas

Based on the premise that telecommunications services should be universally available and affordable, this report seeks to obtain detailed knowledge about why one in twelve Texans do not have telephone service in the home. The research, based on a survey of phoneless people, sought to elicit whether affordability is the primary barrier to having service or whether there are other reasons why a household is phoneless. Results indicate that reasons for not having a phone include the inability to afford installation and the monthly charge for basic service, the inability to control the levels of monthly bills, and the high cost of reinstallation. In its conclusion, the report gives recommendations and provides examples of efforts that are underway around the country to make new communications technologies available to low-income people--the people usually without telephones.

Ordering Information

We are working to digitize all of our archived publications and are no longer offering hard copy publications for sale. Digital and hard copies of our publications can be found at The University of Texas at Austin Library site.

Selected Publications: By Title | By Subject | By Author | By Series | By Year