When President Obama visited Iowa last summer, he spoke of the importance of strengthening our rural communities and encouraging economic development. One of the keys to this effort is access to the Internet and other advanced telecommunications services. Thanks to the deployment of broadband Internet services, communities have seen new economic opportunities and slowed their population losses.

However, decisions being made in Washington by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) threaten to undermine recent progress by leaving many small communities without adequate access to broadband at speeds and prices comparable to those offered in large cities.

In rural states like Iowa, it has largely been left to small, independent cooperatives and companies to provide reliable broadband telecommunications service to consumers in sparsely populated rural areas, which is much more costly than serving people in highly populated urban areas. In many cases, these are the only providers willing to serve rural areas. But the FCC’s actions threaten future progress and could mean a step backward.

In its efforts to expand broadband access, the FCC last year approved rules that are forcing rural providers to reassess how they will deploy broadband in their communities. The rules ultimately eliminate the access fees companies collect from other carriers that transport calls and data over their networks. At the same time, the FCC is also phasing out the Universal Service Fund (USF), another vital source of revenue for companies that invest in telecommunications services in rural areas. It is being replaced with the Connect America Fund, a program that will penalize local telecommunications providers that have been proactive in offering broadband services to their rural customers.

The bottom line is that locally owned, independent telecommunications providers are not as locally driven or independent as they used to be. Here are some of the changes Iowans can expect in their telecommunications service delivery.

First, consumers and businesses will see access recovery charges on their bills (50 cents for consumers and $1 for businesses, per month), as required by the new rules beginning this month. These are fees that typically were shared among providers, not paid by consumers. Other changes and charges loom for 2013 and 2014.

Without USF support and access fees, rural customers most likely will pay more and deployment of broadband in unserved areas will be slowed or even stopped in the foreseeable future.

These are not hollow threats. The impact of the FCC’s decision is already being felt.

According to one survey by the Iowa Telecommunications Association, almost 80 percent of the state’s rural telecommunications companies have delayed or canceled plans to deploy fiber-optic cable in their service areas because of the FCC’s changes.

Iowa’s independent telecommunications companies are dedicated to delivering and upgrading broadband services, and are working with regulators and advocates to identify the impact of these new rules on these companies and their customers. But that may not be enough.

Gary Clark is general manager of Huxley Communications Cooperative and is the former chair of the Iowa Telecommunications Association.