This Election Day, millions of Americans could be affected by results of a vote that will not appear on any ballot. Instead, this vote will happen at the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C., and could effectively eliminate the funding states like Maine need to build new rural cell phone networks.

While the nation focuses on a historic presidential race, the FCC may quietly take more than $1 billion away from rural America. Maine could lose the $13 million of Universal Service Fund (USF) support currently made available for wireless, which would have been used to construct as many as 43 new cell phone towers per year in rural communities.

This takeaway couldn't come at a worse time for our country's struggling economy. Rural America needs investment in local economies to create and keep jobs, and to develop critical communications infrastructure for the future.

Plus, a recent opinion poll found that nine out of 10 Maine residents feel it is important to have reliable and consistent cellular phone coverage in rural areas for public health and safety. At the same time, 75 percent of Mainers reported experiencing dead zones, dropped calls or poor call quality.

To fix these dead spots and bring reliable service to rural Maine, 80 percent of residents support using federal USF dollars -- the fund at risk of elimination on Nov. 4.

Clearly, thousands of Maine residents have made their voices heard. Now it's up to five FCC commissioners to listen.

John E. Rooney

CEO of U.S. Cellular