Could the ACP Push the Feds to Resolve Festering USF Issues?

For years, the federal government has avoided any attempt to resolve a long-standing problem: how to sustain funding for the Universal Service program. But perhaps that could change now that the lack of funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has gained substantial mindshare with the American public. Some stakeholders believe both problems can be solved by funding the ACP through the Universal Service Fund (USF) and expanding the types of entities that are required to pay to support the program. According to USTelecom, the solution to the ACP funding problem is for Congress to “instruct the FCC to modernize and right-size the [USF] to also include a new, financially responsible and self-sustaining version of the ACP, all while dramatically reducing the fees charged to consumers to fund this important effort.” That move also would benefit other USF programs.