Universal Service Fund

I welcome the Federal Communications Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on reforms to the E-Rate program to better protect children, including by addressing excessive screen time in schools. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration was grateful for the opportunity to work closely with the FCC on this important effort. In December 2025, NTIA convened a public listening session on the drivers and consequences of excessive screen use in schools, bringing together parents, educators, and child development experts from across the country.

E-Rate has been, and continues to be, a critical funding source for schools and libraries and for the rural and urban communities they serve. At its core, E-Rate ensures that every student, whether from a wealthy or an underserved community, has the opportunity to learn and flourish at school and beyond. It also provides the high-speed connectivity that keeps core school and library operations running, including security systems, student transportation, HVAC controls, and student information systems.

The Universal Service Administrative Company provided current E-Rate commitment and disbursement data for Head Start and pre-kindergarten facilities and students for funding year 2025. The commitment and disbursement amounts for Head Start and pre-K facilities are:

• Head Start Schools
  • FY 2025 Commitment Amounts: $15.5 million
  • FY 2025 Disbursement Amounts: $7.4 million
• Private and Public Pre-Kindergarten Schools
  • FY 2025 Commitment Amounts: $43.9 million
  • FY 2025 Disbursement Amounts: $21.6 million

As families across the country celebrate this year’s graduates, the Federal Communications Commission is advancing initiatives that will help deliver a brighter and safer future for every community. In today’s classrooms, connected devices are everywhere—nearly 90 percent of public schools now provide them—yet students are losing up to 38 minutes every hour to digital distractions. And there is a concerning trend in the data—showing that reading and math scores are plummeting across the country while screen time has been rising. This month’s agenda reflects our commitment to deploying the w

The Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC’s) estimated total Rural Health Care (RHC) Program demand for Funding Year 2026 is $911.25 million, including the gross demand estimate of $882.19 million for the Telecommunications (Telecom) and Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Programs and the projected USAC administrative expenses of $29.06 million.

The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) submitted the contribution base amount to be used for the third quarter of calendar year 2026 (3Q2026). Upon approval of the universal service support mechanisms quarterly funding requirements, projected administrative costs, and the contribution base, the Federal Communications Commission will establish a quarterly contribution factor and a circularity factor. USAC will then bill contributors monthly for their individual obligations based on the approved contribution factor. The total projected collected interstate and international end-u

RiverStreet Communications of Virginia submited its twelfth quarterly report associated with the gap in meeting its December 31, 2022, interim milestone obligation for its Connect American Fund Phase II (CAF II) auction support (Compliance Gap). RiverStreet has deployed broadband to 115 locations since the company’s eleventh Quarterly Report filed on March 2, 2026 and, to date, RiverStreet has deployed broadband to a total of 7,327 locations. Since its Eleventh Quarterly Report, RiverStreet has continued its efforts to close the Compliance Gap.

Maps of cellular internet coverage by AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon show a typical rural story of cellular coverage in a rural county in Illinois. Cell carriers rarely share towers, and each carrier is on different towers and has different coverage. All three carriers have areas where they have no 5G coverage, and somebody subscribed to any one carrier in this county would find a lot of dead zones. All three carriers have little or no coverage in the northwest sector.

On May 29, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget proposes to revise the Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance. The proposals might be among the most consequential changes to federal grant administration in more than a decade, particularly in the breadth of its policy conditions.

On May 28, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel issued a "slip opinion" concluding that the Federal Communications Commission's Lifeline program—which helps low-income consumers pay for phone and broadband internet service—must comply with a 1996 federal welfare law that limits certain government benefits to U.S. citizens and specific categories of lawfully present non-citizens. The opinion also concludes that the FCC's current enrollment process does not adequately verify immigration status.