Sens Baldwin, Thune Lead a Dozen Bipartisan Colleagues in Pushing the FCC to Increase Speed and Expand Access to Broadband

US Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and John Thune (R-SD) led a bipartisan group of colleagues in pushing Federal Communications Commission to take action to increase broadband speed requirements in its existing Universal Service Fund programs so that Americans, particularly in rural and underserved areas, have access to the download and upload speeds necessary to participate in telehealth, telework, and remote learning. The FCC is considering proposals to update two programs – the Alternative Connect American Cost Model (ACAM) and Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support (CAF-BLS) – that help connect people in rural America to affordable broadband services that are provided by local, smaller telecom companies. These updates would extend financial support in exchange for commitments to serve more people at higher broadband speeds.