The Rural Policy Research Institute's Rural Telecommunications Task Force assessed the rural impacts and unintended or adverse rural consequences of the Federal-State Joint Board's recommendations to the FCC regarding Section 254 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Ten critical rural components of the Joint Board recommendations are listed: (1) principles; (2) definition of universal service; (3) affordability; (4) carriers for universal service support; 5) support in rural, insular, and high cost areas; (6) support for low-income consumers; (7) support for schools and libraries; (8) support for health care providers; (9) interstate subscriber line charges and carrier common line charges; and (10) administration. Each component is followed by an explanation of the issue involved, a brief background overview, and the specific rural concern that must be addressed in this context. Thirty rural concerns are presented, most of which revolve around insufficient information on rural communities; the difficulty in modeling small rural carriers' costs; problems with definitions, particularly "universal service,""basic service," and "rural"; the failure to adopt rules governing designation of carriers for unserved areas; a need for principles to guide states in determining affordability; the fact that 80 percent of necessary costs are not eligible for Universal Service Fund support; and a general concern that rural and insular carriers, whose motives and economic actions are not always driven by the maximization of profits, cannot achieve the economy of scale necessary to be competitive, with the possible result that rates will be prohibitive and rural communities and economies will be damaged. (TD)