NDIA’s Roadmap to Digital Inclusion: Shaping the Future of USF

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) sees reshaping USF as a key potential strategy for achieving digital equity. Five key recommendations for Congress as it considers the future of USF are:

• A National Digital Equity Plan should measure the effectiveness of the USF: Congress should mandate the creation of a National Digital Equity Plan. The USF programs could then be measured against the plan’s goals to determine its effectiveness.
• The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and Lifeline should be funded through the USF: ACP should aligned with the Lifeline program. Modern communication requires access to voice, text, and data simultaneously.
• Congress should ensure bridge funding for ACP: To allow time for the Federal Communications Commission to modernize USF to include ACP, Congress must allocate bridge funding to sustain ACP through 2024, at a minimum.
• USF should fund the Digital Equity Foundation: Sustained funding for the Digital Equity Foundation would ensure that local, trusted organizations have the necessary resources to continue to assist their community members with ACP sign-ups and reach more people in need of services.
• USF contributions should stem from multiple sources: Contribution to USF should come from multiple sources to reduce the fee amount assessed to any one service.