Universal Service Fund

The Federal Communications Commission adopted a proposal to examine how the FCC can make some of the Commission’s high-cost support mechanisms more efficient and effective going forward. This proceeding sets the stage to ensure that high-cost support is targeting areas where it is needed most to advance the FCC’s Build America agenda. The time is ripe for revisiting these topics as several of the relevant model-based, high-cost mechanisms are set to sunset absent Commission action in 2026 and 2028, and the legacy support mechanisms now lack ongoing deployment requirements.

MSEC Communications notified the Federal Communications Commission that the company had withdrawn from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program. Largely because of the extremely high construction costs associated with deploying service to the remaining locations within MSEC's RDOF service area, MSEC withdrew so that other funding can be made available in these areas.

In Alaska, where many communities can only be reached by plane or boat, the Federal Communications Commission has given telecommunications companies $4.6 billion in Universal Service Fund subsidies since 2016. That’s more than $600 per Alaskan per year. More per resident than in any other state. Yet after all that spending, Alaska still ranks near the bottom for access to the very land-based, high-speed internet service the money was meant to deliver. Some communities have yet to be wired at all.

Industry groups urged the Federal Communications Commission to overhaul the nation's universal service fund auditing system, arguing reviews have become slow, inconsistent, and disproportionately burdensome. The comments came in response to a broad FCC inquiry into possible reforms to the Universal Service Administrative Company's operations, governance, and oversight framework. The dominant theme was audits, designed to assess compliance with FCC rules and safeguard the Universal Service

On May 11th through 13th, SpaceX met with the offices of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Carr, FCC Commissioner Trusty, and FCC Commissioner Gomez, and with the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, to discuss reassessment of High-Cost programs in the context of satellite broadband services delivering broadband at competitive rates throughout the areas supported by High-Cost programs... The rapid growth of low-Earth orbit satellite broadband service in recent years has made high-speed, low-latency broadband access available throughout the entirety of the United States.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the Commission has sent three Letters of Inquiry to Minnesota educational institutions to investigate potential misuse of federal funds disbursed through the E-Rate program. This marks the latest effort by the Commission to combat fraud, waste, and abuse in Universal Service Fund programs. The USF’s E-Rate program helps schools and libraries obtain affordable telecommunications and information services so students, teachers, and library patrons can take advantage of online opportunities.

Mission Telecom announced Project: Volume Up, a nationwide initiative designed to help public libraries launch or expand hotspot lending programs in their communities. To introduce the project, Mission Telecom brings together hardware, nationwide 4G and 5G coverage, and nonprofit pricing into a single, ready-to-launch solution—so libraries can quickly get hotspot programs up and running.

Easton Utilities requested to withdraw from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program for all 10 awarded census blocks in Talbot (MD). Easton Utilities has met the deployment obligations for the buildout, completing the mainline construction to make the service available. Over 400 locations have active service and are enjoying broadband internet that was previously not available in these rural areas. The reason for the request to withdraw is due to financial obligations incurred by the ongoing testing requirements.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announced that there is sufficient funding available to fully meet the Universal Service Administrative Company’s estimated demand for category one and category two requests for E-Rate-supported services for funding year 2026. On April 6, 2026, USAC submitted a demand estimate for the E-Rate program for funding year 2026. USAC estimates the total demand for funding year 2026 will be $3.5 billion, which includes estimated demand of $1.7 billion for category one services, and of $1.8 billion for category two services. The FCC