Universal Service Fund

Reps John Curtis (R-UT) and Annie Kuster (D-NH) introduced the Rural Broadband Protection Act to combat waste fraud and abuse in federal broadband programs.

In December 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued fines for two internet service providers that the FCC says defaulted on Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) obligations. RDOF was the FCC subsidy program where broadband subsidies were awarded by a reverse auction that ended in December 2020. The first fine was to Etheric Communications for $732,000 for 244 locations. Etheric was one of the largest RDOF winners, having won $248.6 million to cover 64,463 locations.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel informed Congress that without an additional $6 billion in funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), the program will run out of funds by mid-2024. The program, created with over $14 billion, is less than 2 years old.

Continuation of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) in some form seemed assured, and advocacy and industry groups support it, but opposition is growing. Opponents so far have been concentrating on the obvious:

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has been a transformative force, connecting over 22 million households, but it's in trouble. This proposal would allow this national commitment to continue uninterrupted, bring greater accountability to Big Tech, and create a stable, permanent source of funding that would safeguard the program from the uncertainties of the annual appropriations process. 

• Step One: Maintain Connectivity- Congress needs to immediately provide stop-gap funding to keep the program operational while a permanent fix is put in place.

The Universal Service Fund (USF) – which financially supports several of the Federal Communications Commission's high-cost and low-income broadband programs, at roughly $8 billion annually – has been going through a tough time. This past year saw the USF dragged before federal court in cases brought by a conservative public interest group questioning the fund's legality. The Fifth and Sixth Circuit courts initially ruled against the petitioners, but the Fifth Circuit then agreed to hear the case en banc in September and has yet to rule.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau and the Office of Economics and Analytics announced revised 2024 reasonable comparability benchmarks for fixed broadband services for eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) that are subject to broadband public interest obligations.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB), in conjunction with the Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA), announced the conclusion of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction (Auction 904) long-form application review.

It is clear that nobody at the Federal Communications Commission has used the Starlink service. We have a cabin in the woods in rural South Carolina that is in an internet desert. It gets no wired internet, no wired telephone service and weak and spotty cellphone service, with no prospect of improvement. I recently subscribed to the Starlink standard service. The equipment arrived promptly, setup was quick and easy, and the signal is rock solid, with no weather interruptions. Download speed is as fast as the wired internet service at our home in town.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or Bureau) and the Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) announced that Wavelength LLC, a Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF or Auction 904) long-form applicant, has defaulted. The Bureau has concluded its review of Wavelength’s long-form application in Arizona.