The federal government is expected to announce by Nov. 1 a freeze on funding for building rural cell-phone towers, a move that could cost Maine five new towers a year and leave coverage gaps in a state where spotty service is common.

The Federal Communications Commission is considering a proposal to cap payments from the Universal Service Fund, which Congress created in 1996 to subsidize service in rural areas where there are too few customers for cell-phone companies to justify the cost of installing equipment, according to Connecting Rural America.

The organization is a coalition of advocacy groups, community leaders and elected officials working to ensure that rural citizens have access to high-quality service and choices in wireless telecommunications offerings that are available in urban areas..

Without reliable wireless coverage, first responders like police officers and firefighters cannot quickly and reliably deal with critical safety issues.

Also, E-911 technology is useless in areas without wireless coverage, and in high-cost rural areas, wireless companies rely on federal support to make these resources available to smaller communities.

Two companies that provide service in Maine, US Cellular and Unicel, received a combined $13 million last year from the fund and had anticipated $15 million this year for their work in Maine alone.

Company officials warn that a funding freeze would prevent construction of five towers a year, each of which costs about $400,000.

Last year, six of the 12 towers that US Cellular built in Maine were funded by the Universal Service Fund.

The subsidized towers are in Bingham, Fort Fairfield, Jonesport, Rumford, Bridgton and Sedgwick.

The company has committed to building 32 towers in rural Maine in the next two years, Connecting Rural America said.

The USF, which distributed $4 billion last year, is generated by an 11.7 percent tax on all interstate phone calls made from wired and cellular phones.

Gov. John Baldacci, whose administration has pushed for better cell phone coverage statewide, urged the state's congressional delegation to protect the funding. And the state Legislature approved a joint resolution May 31 urging Congress to preserve the funding.

If the FCC succeeds in capping the fund, Maine could lose as much as $2 million and more than five new towers will be jeopardized, according to Connecting Rural America. For more information, visit www.connectingruralamerica.org.

-- Betty Jespersen