Moving Toward Opportunity for All: The Future of Universal Service Reform

The Future of Universal Service Reform Task Force chaired by, Mignon Clyburn and Rachelle Chong, was convened to explore how the nation’s universal service policies should evolve to meet the communications needs of the twenty-first century. Participants represented a broad range of perspectives, including consumer advocates, industry representatives, education and health care stakeholders, public interest organizations, and policy experts. At the heart of the discussion and evaluation was the long-term sustainability of the $8+ billion fund, which is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company under Federal Communications Commission oversight to manage four core programs: High-Cost, Lifeline, E-Rate, and Rural Health Care. The task force’s deliberations underscore the critical, ongoing need for universal service in an increasingly digitized society. While one-time federal capital injections, such as the deployment portion of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program, are built to deploy physical infrastructure, they do not fund the long-term operational costs, network maintenance, or disaster recovery required to keep remote networks functional over time. Universal service remains the nation's primary vehicle for closing the digital divide and ensuring universal access to modern life.