Universal Service Fund

What should the social contract be between the communications sector, the government, and the public in the next two decades? Its terms should reflect that the purpose of communications policy is to ensure that all Americans can fully participate in the economy and civic life of their communities. In 1996, there was a bipartisan consensus that policy should drive competition that, in turn, would drive the communications sector to continually deliver faster, better and cheaper communications for all.

SpaceX is continuing to pursue its case with the Federal Communications Commission that the proliferation of low-Earth orbit satellite service renders rural broadband subsidies obsolete, while depicting the opposing arguments of "subsidy-dependent incumbents" as "unfounded" and "implausible." The company's most recent remarks on the matter came in the form of reply comments to the FCC's proceeding on modernizing High-Cost, a program operated under the Universal Service Fund that helps subsidize telecom network deployment and maintenance in rural areas.

The Federal Communications Commission's Office of Managing Director (OMD) announced that the proposed universal service contribution factor for the fourth quarter of 2026 will be 0.42 or 42.0 percent. The FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB), in consultation with the OMD, instructs the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to apply $69 million in unused funds to offset the Schools and Libraries program demand and $56 million in unused funds to offset the Rural Health Care program demand.

Washington has a familiar playbook when an outdated federal program runs into trouble: Rather than fixing what’s broken, it just finds someone new to pay for it. That is the danger Congress faces today with the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund. For nearly three decades, USF has helped connect rural communities, low-income Americans, schools, libraries, and rural healthcare providers.

In the 21st Century, access to connectivity is essential to nearly every aspect of American life. It drives the economy. Enhances public safety. Expands educational opportunities and healthcare services. It increases agriculture productivity and improves the quality of life for people everywhere. Because broadband is so essential to our economy and society, policymakers and providers have a shared responsibility to ensure that it remains accessible, reliable, and secure for all Americans.

CarolinaConnect Cooperative withdrew from the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program. While CarolinaConnect Cooperative remains committed to delivering gigabit-tier broadband and voice services to rural communities in South Carolina, escalating construction costs to deploy broadband and voice services throughout its RDOF-funded area, combined with the relatively modest RDOF funding authorized for CarolinaConnect Cooperative, have led It to make this difficult decision. CarolinaConnect Cooperative will no longer receive RDOF support and may be subje

If the character Edward Cullen of the ubiquitous Twilight saga taught us anything (aside from the fact that Robert Pattinson’s hair can do no wrong), it is that being a heretic can be cool. In the series, the Volturi—the Vampiric Council—operates as an authoritative government dictating the terms of vampire life: encouraging slaughter of humans, forbidding certain romance, and eventually seeking the destruction of Edward and Bella’s baby. Cullen went against these vampire norms to protect his loved ones, doing so in a way that made many hearts flutter.

In its August meeting, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled Maximizing Efficiencies in Universal Service Administration Company that looks at changing the rules governing USAC, the Universal Service Administration. USAC is a non-profit corporation that was formed by the FCC after passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which created the Universal Service Fund.

For more than thirty years, American communications users—really, American consumers—have been charged roughly $1 billion to $3 billion a year to subsidize Internet and related services for schools and libraries through the government's E-Rate program, which is one component of what's called the “Universal Service Fund.” That is a lot of compulsory generosity. Yet only now are policymakers asking the obvious question: Is this money helping students learn—or is it doing harm? Some treat that question as out of bounds. It is not.

SpaceX is still pushing federal regulators to slash a broadband subsidy that supports rural internet service providers the company is increasingly competing with for subscribers. Three SpaceX attorneys and satellite policy chief Joseph Bissonnette recently met with staff from the Federal Communications Commission to press their case.