FCC dodges disaster as court approves handling of broadband subsidies

The 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the decades-old funding mechanisms governing Federal Communications Commission subsidies, a decision that assures the delivery of billions of dollars in broadband aid across a variety of government programs. The FCC, for more than a quarter-century, has operated this pot of subsidies known as the Universal Service Fund, amounting to roughly $9 billion annually. The money, which is raised from fees collected from phone bills, supports federal aid supporting internet connectivity to rural areas, schools, libraries, and low-income households among other programs. The court concluded, “that Congress supplied the FCC with intelligible principles when it tasked the agency with overseeing the USF.” The ruling said the FCC properly delegated the administration of the fund to its nonprofit, the Universal Service Fund Administrative Company.