Universal Service Fund

Starlink is still in beta phase, but Ookla decided to use data from Speedtest Intelligence to investigate Q1 2021 performance in the US and Canada to see if the program is living up to expectations. In the US  during Q1 2021, median download speeds from Starlink ranged from 40.36 Mbps in Columbia County, Oregon to 93.09 Mbps in Shasta County, California.

Charter Communications CEO Tom Rutledge highlighted the company’s potential to upsell broadband customers as data usage grows but noted it didn’t yet feel the need to pursue a rollout of symmetrical capabilities. The broadband provider saw "significant growth in data usage per internet customer” in Q1 2021, stating this had reached an average of about 700 GB per month.

The next open meeting of the Federal Communications Commission will be May 20, 2021. Here's the proposed agenda:​

In a filing at the Federal Communications Commission, Charter defended itself against a group of bidders in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction that have questioned Charter’s winning bid in the auction. Charter had the top bid in the auction and is poised to gain $1.22 billion to cover some of the costs of deploying broadband to unserved rural areas. Charter made its filing in reply comments in connection with the company’s request to obtain eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) status for Alabama, New Hampshire, and Tennessee.

With the Biden infrastructure debate in full swing, the cost to connect the rest of the unserved with broadband has taken center stage. The last version of the Accessible Affordable Internet for All Act proposes $80 billion in subsidies through reverse auctions to close the digital divide once and for all.

/Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) Commissioner Crystal Rhoades commented on the Promoting Access to Broadband Act introduced by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY-18) to increase wireless and broadband access to the federal Lifeline program for low-income urban and rural Americans.

On April 9, 2021, Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote to various Members of Congress regarding the Oct 1, 2020 Government Accountability Office report entitled "FCC Should Enhance Performance Goals and Measures for Its Program to Support Broadband Service in High-Cost Areas". In their Sept 17, 2020 response to the draft report, the Managing Director and Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau noted that the FCC has adopted targeted performance goals and measures for specific high-cost support mechanisms.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY-18) introduced a bicameral bill that would increase access to broadband service for low-income urban and rural Americans.  The Promoting Access to Broadband Act (S.1102) would help states increase awareness and enrollment in the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline Program.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) seeks comment on several petitions for designation as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) for the purpose of becoming eligible to receive universal service support. The petitioners are winning bidders in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction (Auction 904). ETC designation is a prerequisite to receiving universal service support available through the high-cost and Lifeline programs.

Opponents to Verizon’s planned acquisition of prepaid TracFone often cite the negative impacts they believe it will have on Lifeline subscribers and the prepaid market overall. But Verizon is pitching the transaction as a means of improving TracFone’s ability to provide Lifeline-supported services and better serve the prepaid sector. Verizon said that TracFone, as part of Verizon, will become a stronger competitor against the flanker prepaid brands of AT&T (Cricket ) and T-Mobile (Metro).