This afternoon, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit joined the 5th Circuit in rejecting an attack on the constitutionality of the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund (USF). The  USF is a critical means of reducing the cost of broadband and other telecommunications services for schools, hospitals and libraries, for low-income consumers, and for residents of rural America. The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, MediaJustice, and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance are intervenors supporting the FCC in this case. The following statement may be attributed to Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Senior Counselor Andrew Jay Schwartzman. 

"Another court of appeals panel has unanimously reaffirmed the constitutional validity of the system Congress established to ensure that all Americans have affordable access to telecommunications service and advanced services like broadband. Joining the 5th Circuit which issued a similar decision six weeks ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that Congress properly gave the FCC authority to make sure that rural, educational, library, and medical users have affordable access to broadband and other telecommunications services. The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society joined with its allies at the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and MediaJustice in helping to defend this critical mechanism for ensuring that broadband benefits the entire economy by connecting institutions, businesses and government to all people who can benefit from broadband access.”

 

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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