Many telecom stakeholders want the Universal Service Fund ‘paused’ for now

The Federal Communications Commission will soon issue a report to Congress on the options for the troubled Universal Service Fund (USF). When it issued a Notice of Inquiry in December 2021, the FCC asked for input because the cost to consumers who support the USF has been increasing. The FCC also noted that the new Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) is about to start dispensing billions of federal dollars to fund fiber deployments to many of the same rural areas that are supported by USF. Since December, there have been hundreds of comments filed with the FCC regarding the matter. They mainly relate to the “high-cost” aspect of USF, which helps service providers to deploy telecommunications infrastructure in high-cost areas — such as rural locales. Of all the comments, three solutions seem to rise to the top: make “Big Tech” contribute to USF; make broadband providers contribute to USF; or pause the program entirely while the effects of IIJA play out.