Making Good on the Promise of Universal Service

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 arrived at a pivotal moment in American communications history. For decades, universal service had meant one thing: ensuring that all Americans could access basic telephone service at affordable rates through a system of implicit cross-subsidies managed largely within the monopoly structure of AT&T and its successors. But by the mid-1990s, this model faced twin pressures. Emerging technologies—from enhanced telephone services to computer networks—created tensions to evolve the definition of “universal service” beyond plain old telephone service. Simultaneously, growing competition in long-distance telecommunications services threatened to undermine the traditional subsidy mechanisms that had made affordable telephone service possible. Three decades later, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has delivered enormous gains, though universal service remains a promise yet to be fully realized. Deployment gaps persist. Affordability remains elusive for millions of households. And the system that sustains universal service is eroding; the program's legal and institutional foundations face new challenges.  At the same time, the costs of disconnection are higher than ever. In 2025, over 20 percent of Americans said they didn’t have home broadband. It is definitely time for some reflection and reevaluation. The 30th anniversary of the Telecommunications Act presents an ideal opportunity to review the universal service objective, its underlying principles, and the progress made toward its achievement.